So Sensitive, It Prompted A Legal Threat
(In light of new information reported, this article has been edited and amended to reflect those facts.)
What we’re about to tell you what may be the real reason there is so much damage control underway at various community venues regarding what may have come out of what we’ve now learned to be the data breach of Sonic Retro administrator Dustin Wyatt’s personal password and unrelated server space on Hapisan.com this week. It may have less to do with the unauthorized release of fan project Sonic Megamix, and more to do with the unauthorized release of another project its creator never wanted to see in public hands.
A news tipster who spoke to TSSZ on condition of anonymity says that follwing up on that Megamix leak, an independent proof of concept showing off the 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog converted to the Nintendo DS was also leaked, allegedly stemming from the breach in some way; that is currently under investigation by affected parties.
A ROM header file, also allegedly part of the leaked material, states title and author: “Sonic 1 DS By Stealth.” For reference, Stealth is one of the main men behind Megamix, a part of Team Megamix, which Wyatt is also involved with. It remains unclear whether Wyatt’s password compromise and the breach of Hapisan.com are directly related; the same can be said for the recently uncovered password breach on the Sonic Stuff Research Group.
On paper, that doesn’t sound so exciting to the general population. It may be to researchers or reverse engineers, though, and it definitely merits attention when it’s your work. That may be why shortly after we promoted this story on our Twitter feed, Stealth E-Mailed TSSZ threatening to pursue legal action against us if we ran it, saying among other things the concept “was NEVER meat [sic] to reach the public in any form.”
However, Sonic 1 DS has already reached the public, and Stealth himself was the one who publicized it. It happened about two months ago when, on his website Organized Chaos, he opened a portfolio page that he claimed was assembled in late 2009. Stealth discusses, in detail, what Sonic 1 DS is–essentially an update to his reverse-engineering of Sonic 1 to the Game Boy Advance–and even offers as part of his video reel hosted on the site a lengthy look at the game in action:
Officially “95% complete”, a teaser video was released to prime fans for the upcoming “Sonic Genesis”. The gameplay appeared to behave strangely, which left some hoping that the video was just bad, and others that the remaining 5% was major technical work. The final product didn’t fail to disappoint, with poor sound, a dithered graphic or two, and bugged, jittery, even lagged gameplay. Quickly, I set out to prove those who went so far as to say the GBA “couldn’t handle” Sonic 1 wrong by personally reverse-engineering and porting the original game to the GBA platform, and later to the DS. At a smooth 60fps with spot-on gameplay, this one-zone demonstration stands as a true testament to glory of the original.
In fact, Stealth publicly re-released that Sonic 1 DS demo video last month on Youtube as part of a similar reel called Mods and Ports Highlights, in which the demo in question comprises the entire back half of the showcase. Stealth claims he showed the whole body of work to a Sega of America producer in 2009, and received no response back. We have the video below.
The video and web pages remain publicly viewable as of the time of this article’s publication.
Still, there is a difference between seeing video of the work and actually having it in your hands. Unfortunately, it appears this breach resulted in the latter for some. Even though fan works are not subject to our Sensitive Materials Policy in most cases, due to the circumstances surrounding this breach, TSSZ will not disclose possible download locations for either work in question. In good faith, however, we shared with Stealth the link provided by our tipster, with hope he can independently take control of what is becoming a fermenting situation.
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Four times, Tristan. Four. I have emailed you four times regarding this situation- once when I guessed what you were alluding to on twitter, once to quickly respond to your inane rebuttal to try and beat this story, once at-length in response to the same rebuttal, and once more giving you one more opportunity to remove this story
There is information provided through this story that is not provided on my site. If you cared for my project, you would have, as I stated, made a news post about it when the portfolio video was released. Instead, you opted to wait until it became something that could create drama, and ignore my insistence that the additional information supplied through this news report inflicts damage upon my reputation and property
I think you’ve had enough fair warning. I can drop this issue if you are prepared to retract your story before I am certain it has attracted views. Otherwise, consider yourself notified that legal action will be served
You swat away legal threats from them but hide behind your little policy if it involves Sega how cute…
Stealth posting about it on his site was probably a mistake, do you remember how that fan made Sonic CD iPhone port went completely dark after being proposed to SEGA? Obviously neither of this projects went forward and Sega slapped some NDAs or something similar on the creators. Maybe you would figure this out to if you weren’t out to vilify people for hits, no wonder they don’t want be act civil with you.
Sonical: I’ve informed Stealth of our Sensitive Materials Policy and this story very well could go away if I am convinced the leaked port is in some way original and doesn’t infringe on Sega’s own rights. Remember, this isn’t Mettrix or E:02; it basically is a port of an already copyrighted work.
We don’t have images of the leak. We don’t and won’t have download links (and anyone who posts one here, by the way, gets an auto-ban.) We only have the video of the port in action that Stealth himself shared, and I’ve made clear to Stealth privately that we are in no way trying to be malicious. For better or worse, a third party leaked this, and I’d be very surprised if the severity of any future leaks doesn’t go up from here.
-T
A copy of the last email correspondence I’ve sent to you, Tristan-
Your policies be damned. The existence of the leak itself is sensitive material. It prompts people to look for it, possibly find it, and further spread it around, and brings common knowledge that this even happened in the first place. You are intentionally inflicting suffering onto ME for something that someone ELSE has done TO me. Are you just that kind of sicko or what?
This was never released in the first place, so it was never infringing. Divulging the fact that I created the work and that it was originally ignored by my ONE attempt to contact Sega in the past is absolutely NOTHING like releasing a playable build, or divulging the fact that someone indeed had, even without my permission. The release is the infringing occurrence, both to Sega, and to myself, and I had absolutely no willing part in that. My work in creating the project itself was entirely original- Aside from a few basic public domain accessories, the game was based on MY disassembly work, MY translation work, and MY original code for the DS-specific version. The propriety of the functional product was the most important aspect, and that has been taken from me, not only by the person who illegally obtained it from me, but also by you, the person who is telling the entire world that this happened, and leading many to actually look for it
I have sent you my final warning by means of a comment to the news story, which you seem to have decided not to allow publicized [insert- though I see you actually did], so allow me to provide one more. You have failed to remove the article before it was seen in public. Consider this your notice that legal action will be taken regarding this issue
Seriously. Tristan. Are you going out of your way to be a huge, gigantic pulsating phallus?
“I KNOW, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE LEAK SOME MORE SO EVERYONE GOES TO DOWNLOAD IT. WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA.”
You might as well have just put up the damn link, all the help you’re being. Fuck.
Quick question: How can legal action be taken if Sonic 1 is owned by Sega? Wouldn’t Sega be the only party that legally could take legal action? (Or does Sealth work for Sega or something to that effect?) Don’t flame me- I’m just putting my two cents in.
Holy shit Tristan. Just holy shit. I keep away from shit like this generally, but this is such an obvious instigation that I have no words for you.
…
Goddammit Tristan. Shit like this is why they banned you off of Retro’s site because YOU’RE AN ASSHOLE! Ugh… Like, fuck. I don’t know how truly consequential it is that you posted this, but out of respect for the fact it could make circumstances much worse, it’s probably a bad idea you posted this but hey, MORE TRAFFIC! MORE DRAMA! MORE A+ JOURNALISM FROM THE SUPER SONIC ZONE! HEY EVERYBODY! I TAKE MY JOURNALISM INSPIRATION FROM MURROW BECAUSE WHAT I REPORT ON IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!
I do not currently work for Sega, but the original work put forth in creating this product and the rights to that work are my own. I did not choose to release it in any infringing manner; that was done by someone else, and affects my rights, as does this news article’s blatant advertisement of that fact.
In losing propriety of a working copy of this project, I have incurred legally reparable damages measurable by the extent of the leak, which this article inarguably serves to lengthen, regardless of the fact that a link does not explicitly exist here (as those viewing the article will be alerted to the existence of the leak, and go questing to find it). This will be taken to reflect poorly upon my character not only in any company’s view of my supposed “carelessness” in securing my own projects, but as well as through word-of-mouth that is bound to come from ignorant individuals who have wrongfully obtained access to the product and will openly criticize every aspect regardless of their knowledge or the obvious incompletion of the product. And in the event that this could have been taken as a serious project by Sega themselves in any form, their own propriety will have been damaged by the extent of the spreading of this leak, rendering it less desireable.
As this damages my ability to conduct business that I am indeed entitled to conduct, legal action can be taken.
yeah good luck with that bro
WHAT? What is it that you can take legal action on? Seriously, I’m confused. It’s Sega’s work, not yours.
Is it the coding itself you’re talking about?
@Unknownlight The original Sonic the Hedgehog is Sega’s work. Using it to create SonicDS and further make SonicDS distinct is my work. It is my right to create a derivative with intent to submit it to the original company for their purchase or sponsorship as it does not cross into infringement until I personally distribute it with intent to cause the company loss, or to independently profit from it myself. It is not someone’s right to gain unauthorized access to my files, and furthermore, freely distribute them across the internet, regardless of what those files are. I do not see how this is difficult to understand at all
Wow. Damn. Tristan’s going to be taking a bad beating all night.
Wow. This whole situation is blown way out of proportion. Tristan, the man said he didn’t want this article up regarding HIS work, you should have obliged him. Keeping it up is a dick move, man. Simple as that, from where I’m standing.
Stealth? Your shit is amazing, I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Okay, so SonicDS falls under “derivative work”? Okay, fine, I get it.
“I do not see how this is difficult to understand at all”
Look at it from the point of view from people who don’t understand the technicalities of these things. This seems equivalent in my mind to taking a published novel, typing it out word-for-word and making a PDF out of it, and then threatening legal action when the PDF was distributed. As far as I know, that’s completely ridiculous, because none of it belonged to you in the first place. That’s why people are finding it hard to understand.
And here’s the thing: We’ve not posted anything of the code in question beyond what Stealth has already released into the public via video. We are merely trying to say that, for better or worse, that this was leaked, and it’s not a good thing. If we *were* posting the download, it would be different, but we’re not, and we won’t.
I’m certainly not encouraging folks to go look for this build, and ultimately I can’t control the free will of the readers here. I certainly don’t advocate for the Thought Police, either.
-T
Semantics. You’ve drawn attention to this, arguably deliberately. I’d tread carefully, if I were you.
Not a threat, by the way. It’s sound advice.
Stealth, I understand you’re upset that your private work was leaked online, and that Tristan reported that this happened against your wishes. But unless you have a formal agreement with Sega as it stands, throwing around legal threats for someone just mentioning it’s happened… I can definitely see where you’d see it as an antagonistic move, although I’m not sure he intended it that way.
But you aren’t making the situation any better, given the comments I’ve read from you, even your own quoted e-mail, not to mention the threats, and if I were in Tristan’s position (which I’m not, since some people actually think that), I wouldn’t be very inclined to respect your wishes by this point. Maybe Tristan should retract the story for your personal sake, but threatening to challenge his legal grounds to publish it… that’s just asking for drama, which is what several of the commenters here are blaming Tristan for.
@Tristan In what way did my video showcasing a specific series of information about the project provide everyone with information that there was an instance of a full working copy that anyone could personally obtain without my consent if they searched hard enough?
@Solus Tristan is known to excuse himself from respecting anyone by any means he thinks he can take. My original response post references the three emails I sent before the story actually went up at all, and the one after. In the first, legal action was only a possibility as I explained that I had to take the issue seriously. It was not mentioned at all in the second brief mail, nor in the third, which rebutted Tristan’s “justification” and explained in detail why it was faulty, and why I did not want the story published, which was then completely ignored. I don’t believe escalation is unreasonable that point
Wow, why can’t Tristan stop announcing sensitive stuff like this? Fuck policy, be decent to the guy, Tristan. This news story isn’t interesting, save for the existance of a near final version of Sonic Megamix, which is supposed to be kept secret if leaked, not announced. It’s just drama and hackers and has nothing we should know about Sonic right now. Useless article that provokes negative response. It’s your call, man, I’m just leaving my thoughts.
I agree with Unknownlight here. I may not be in the know-how, but this is all becoming a huge mess.
As Tristan has said, he never linked to the leaked copies of SonicDS or Sonic Megamix. He cannot control how or what people look up online. I only feel this anger would be justified if he would have posted the download link itself in the post. I understand Stealth, but you cannot point the anger from this unfortunate leak toward him. He only spoke of what happened.
Tristan is brutally honest, which may or may not be a good thing, but hey, it’s why I’m a daily user.
*reads above comments*
…..
I agree with DoctorEggman.
Solus is right. Lots of people are being super touchy about this subject in a way that’s probably not warranted, and it’s only irritating the issue.
I’ve gotta side with Tristan on this one. I say that as a Journalism student. In spite of the fact that this site reports on happenings in the Sonic community, he has every right to report on any facet of that he likes. Remember when Sarah Palin’s email was hacked? Should news agencies have avoided reporting on that, for fear that it would cause people to seek out her personal files? Of course not.
I understand where Stealth is coming from. By further publicizing this leak (and let’s face it, TSSZ is the only gaming news site that WOULD report on something as minor as a breach of data in the Sonic community), he is most certainly inspiring people to seek out the Megamix and Sonic DS build. I understand that the parties that created those titles would rather not have them spread anymore than they already have. I mean, a great many of us, myself included, may never have heard about the leak had it not been for TSSZ. I can only imagine how frustrating that must be.
But that doesn’t make TSSZ wrong for publicizing it. TSSZ posts Sonic-related news, and from that perspective, this is definitely news-worthy. Would you go after Kotaku if they posted a blurb about it? The leak happened, it’s out there, and you guys need to focus on the jackoffs that hacked your server, not any messengers reporting on it. Provided, of course, that said messengers don’t slander your name or reputation.
Whether or not Stealth has the technical moral high ground here, I think everybody knows and can agree that Tristan only posted this “news” to be a fucking douche. This information is of no interest to ANYONE not planning to hunt down the leaked materials upon learning of their existence. This is just yet another example of Tristan attempting to play the hotshot news reporter by needlessly adding to his drama portfolio, despite the obvious lack of interest in his readership.
I was going to say something here, but Josh pretty much covered what I was thinking…
As much as I hate to say it, Tristan is right on this one. We live in a country we freedom of expression. Tristan is telling a news story even if that news is as mundane as a data breach of a sonic fan site. The best thing Stealth can do is try to find the culprits and let this news fade away.
Come on Tristan! Just take the damn news story down! It can’t hurt much and besides it’s not that interesting a story.
It’s a fangame.
Get real.
(I’ll be honest, Extaticus, you’re on pretty thin ice, since my information shows you are in the core group who leaked these assets. -T)
Was there really any point in writing this.? Like the others said…it’s not that interesting….
@Tristan: With all due respect, I regret nothing about what I did, aside from the trouble that it caused the Sonic Stadium staff; believe me when I say that I am most certainly and sincerely sorry for creating trouble that the SSMB moderators had to deal with, and wish them no ill will (and, indeed, bear no grudges) as a result of their responses to my actions. At the end of the day, the forum belongs to the administrator, and the administrator’s decision is final – even if I did disagree with it, there would be not point in me contesting in an area in which it is not my place to speak.
On the subject of the material that I was distributing, however, I believe that I was perfectly within my legal rights (though probably not entirely within my forum rights) to send the links to whoever I wanted to, and Sonic Retro were outright hypocritical to criticise me for doing so. My distribution of the leaked files is only as “illegal” as Sonic Megamix itself if not less, and I am harming no-one’s profits, credibility, integrity or copyrights by distributing it – or at least am doing no more harm than the fangame itself has already done.
In all honesty, I believe that the creators of a glorified ROM-hack which makes liberal use of copyrighted code, art assets and music from the original Sega games themselves should most certainly consider taking the proverbial plank out of their own eyes before pointing out the speck in mine, and get their heads round the actual implications of what has actually happened, rather than disproportionately sensationalising the gravity of the leak; the perfectly lawful redistribution of a leaked beta of a non-profit Sonic fangame is hardly all that much of a big deal, all things considered. What would be a bigger deal, however, is if hidden data from a beta of an actual official Sonic game were to be hacked out and distributed loudly and publicly over a popular Sonic fansite – and Sonic Retro themselves already have that one covered, I suppose…
In addition to that, I stick by the belief that if you don’t want something shared on the internet, you should keep it out of a situation where this is liable to happen – and after all, the Megamix team’s files were only “hacked” as much as Sonic 1 was hacked to create Megamix itself, and only as much as a certain few Sonic Retro affiliates hacked the Sonic Generations beta. I suppose that you could consider that a form of digital karma.
@ Exacticus Too badd Sonic Retro and team Megamix are two entirely different entities which have little to do with each other. You don’t have any right to do anything. Especially not since the creators of the work are expressly asking that it NOT be distributed. Comparing this to the Generations mining is a huge stretch there, buddy.
(EDIT – I’m going to let your alias go this time, Aquaslash, but you need to post under your given username here in the future. -T)
@ Tristan: “given username?” I can’t say I really have one. I cycle through 4 nicks all over the internet. Everyone of consequence knows that I cycle through these names, and it is absolutely no secret at all what they are and that they are me.
Doesn’t matter–I don’t allow duplicate or alternate accounts here, barring of course your ability to be extra sneaky. You were not. Pick one and stick with it.
-T
“Oh no someone took my hack of a Sonic game, lets cry about it”. Nobody is gonna go search for you damn file cause honestly, I dont think anyone cares if they can play an illegal version of Sonic on a DS. (And by the way, Sonic 1 is already on the DS via Sonic Classic Collection). Im pretty whoever goes on this site played Sonic 1 enough they could care less if it was on a DS, nevermind go spend a bunch of time searching for it
@Tristan >implying I was trying to be sneaky
In any case, I’m sticking with this nick for this site.
Just out of curiosity, what the fuck does it matter what nicknames people choose to use?
It’s obvious that you’re able to determine who’s who for the purpose of ensuring that people aren’t circumventing bans, so who gives a shit what anonymous name our opinions are attached to?
@ChaoticFox
Amen!
@ChaoticFox:
Me: I have a controversial opinion!
You: But that opinion’s idiotic.
Me2: I second Me’s opinion!
Me3: I agree with it too!
Me1: @You: It looks like you’re being outvoted. I win.
@Unknown
Even if someone were to do that, again, who cares? Is that considered a form of “cheating” in the oh-so noble art of internet cock fights?
Supporting yourself in a comment section is awfully sad, but it doesn’t make a bit of difference in the overall scheme of things – there’s no prize for winning. lol
@ChaotixFox: I was being sarcastic when I was talking about winning. XD
The other, and more common, way alternate identities are used is to attack other users or express controversial opinions other another name so that you don’t get any of the blame.
It doesn’t matter in the scheme of things, of course not, but it’s a subtle way of discouraging GIFT. If have to choose one name and stick with it, then you’re less likely to be a dick than if you were completely anonymous.
This is pretty much akin to tabloid journalism, isn’t it? Maybe even junk food news…
Wait a minute–most Retro admins are still banned from this site, including Aquaslash. Why am I letting Aquaslash as “MissScanty” post here in the first place?
*Ban*
-T
“Why am I letting Aquaslash post here in the first place?”
Why not?
^
Ah, that explains it. There IS no good reason. lol
Sonic 1 can’t be completely faithfully ported over as the screen of the Nintendo is lower resolution than the modes used by the megadrive/genesis. You’d have to lose some screen real estate.