Poooooooooooooooooooorting.

[therfiles]

Hey guys.

 

I have a quick question regarding the "P" word. (Porting). I need to know what you think of the following things.

 

So I made a scripted duel between Malak and Revan, set on the Star Forge. It is really almost complete, and probably could be shipped out really soon, but there are some legally gray zones I have encountered. First of all, there is the problem of the antagonist, Malak. There is a really good model of him made, and it is used in Movie Battles II. I did some digging, and it looks like the model is a half-port. It seems as if the author ported it, but then edited very heavily. Here is a post about the model itself: http://www.lucasforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=121464 . I would love to know what you guys think of using this model in my mission. The second problem is sounds. I directly ported all of the voice-overs directly from KOTOR. There is no substitute for this. Are these OK to use in the mod? And finally, there are some general sounds (music, menu sounds) that add to the KOTOR experience that really make the player feel like its KOTOR.

 

I would love to release this mod, but I'm not sure what to do about these three things. And opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Szico VII]

Get permission from the author and It'll probably be fine as far as the community is concerned. As for KOTOR...well I dunno. Its probably too old for the devs to care but Id email them to be sure.

[Wytchking]

As far as the MB2 team are aware the Malak model we use has some parts of the textures ported but the mesh itself was built from scratch. I must admit having not done a topology comparison myself however which would tell the full story.

[CaptainChar]

Depends also if the game still has any protective licensing, if the source code is out, its generally safe to use elements from, since its considered freesouce then, but email first if you can

 

Ive emailed in the past for permissions, Sega, Capcom, Konami, and Nintendo for various projects, instead of risking a lawsuit that is, Surprisingly, Sega and capcom both saw the projects as "fan art" and "homage" so I received the green light from them to use certain assets.

 

And if your looking for something specific, I might be able to grant you access to the "specter stock"....

[CrimsonStrife]

I've seen the original Malak model, and could even pull it again given a few minutes for a comparison, however that thread is basically shite, none of the images work, at least not for me...so I can't see anything. As far as will the community care? Errr, ask @@Caelum but I have seen plenty of threads asking about links to old ports, so that may be considered a moraly grey area. Now I would say that depending on how much of an "edit" it was, then there may not be an issue...i.e. I don't know that anyone will care if he snagged the actual head for accuracy or laziness sake, but built the rest of the model. KOTOR is still young enough that it's copyrights should still be in effect and I don't think the source was released so theres that too....If the textures are rips then that is kinda a no-no, assuming that anyone cares...if they were just snagged off screenshots or something, then you could say they were "photo-sourced" but again...kinda grey.

 

Legalities are a pain, long story short, I would consult Caelum to see what he thinks about hosting it here, the original model author if you can, and maybe throw an email to Bioware and see what stirs up...I doubt LucasArts will care since they own all titles involved.

 

as for the sound files...you're probably fine there, but again, when in doubt ask...if you can't get a response, I say use your best judgement.

[therfiles]

Thanks, Crimson!

 

So, what is your policy, @Caelum?

[therfiles]

*Polite nudge*

[CrimsonStrife]

I'll write you a lengthy reply when it's not 4 in the morning. Remind me if I forget.

*Polite nudge*

OI @@Caelum !!

 

Now that is how you get attention.

[Inyri]

I can confirm any and all of that, where it comes to KotOR models.

[therfiles]

Alright, thanks. I'll write to bioware/lucas but I don't think they will respond...worth a shot though.

[CrimsonStrife]

Technically Bioware should be the only concern...since LucasArts owns the rights to all of the games, and Ravensoft (who made JK) don't exist anymore, really you just have to worry about KOTOR's developers, Bioware for K1 and Obsidian if your aiming for K2, but since Malak was made for K1, just worry about Bioware. However with LucasArts holding the primary rights, they could probably give you the go ahead all on their own...if they wanted to.

[Inyri]

Seems to me like it'd be easier to just make your own content. *whistles*

[CaptainChar]

ravensoft was absorbed into activision, its also why CoD has their logo as an unlockable, I miss old raven

 

for permissions, it depends on the age of the material in question, if its modern, as in the past 2 console generations say, likely not, but if its older then that or if the game licensing for what your sourcing from hasnt been renewed or expired, its generally green lit from who your asking the permission

[CrimsonStrife]

Yeah that may be a good rule of thumb in most cases, but if you go around advising people of that then someone might end up in legal trouble. The problem with that mindset is that you are assuming the reaction of the property owner simply based on age. And while yes licenses expire, it is always best to air on the side of caution and contact whoever you can anyway. If the content is indeed old, and no one is responding, then I guess do what you wish at that point, but I wouldn't put it past some of these big-time legal companies to rip some poor kid a new one over some 8 or 9 year old game. Something to bear in mind is that it usually is not the content creators who take legal action, or even care in the slightest, but their legal department who are looking for a quick lawsuit to cash in on.

[CaptainChar]

a good example of what Crimson says is some of the mods around FF7, I can remember when shit hit the fan over szico's mods and I dont remember whos mod actually got shut down, I think it was almighty_gir's stuff at one time. but some companies will hold these IP's for a trump card, rule of thumb is just email anyways, only reason i have Konami, Nintendo, Sega, and capcom on my email list

[therfiles]

Ok. I'll shoot em' an email. Thanks for the advice!