Modding Guidelines

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posted on August 27th, 2010, 6:17 am
jetnova16 wrote:I don't remember if that was the case becuse it was on the Armada2Files Forums, but I do remember a few things that permission is giving in some Read Me's automatically, some is given by e-mail, and the last thing in the forum is that if someone that created the mod can't be contacted and they have also left the Armada II Community then with the fact that they've left Freyr and Fahres has said permission has thus been already given and that is how you can proceed.

I believe I found the same thing on ArmadaFleetCommands Forums about posting mods too.


Jet, please drop it.  They guys here have given you their position on this.  If you plan on posting any files here then you follow this sites guidelines.  If you post them on A2Files or AFC then follow their guidelines.

If you really believe you can post your files on A2Files then include a disclaimer listing which works you are using and the authors name and whether you have permission or were unable to contact that person.  A final line saying that if posting this material without permission is against site policy or the authors object then you will happily remove the offending items from the download.  This way you cover your own ass and show you are trying to respect others wishes.  And, if at the end of the day the A2Files say remove it, then you remove it, without complaint.

I do believe there is a work around for your issues though although it increases the complexity of your mod installation, and it would still be advisable to seek the opinion of site moderators before doing this.

Lets say your mod uses the U.S.S. Loki which was uploaded by Loki to A2Files.  Loki has disappeared and is not contactable.  The mod remains on A2Files.  Then upload your mod without the Loki's files and then make your mod installation instructions like this:

1) Download and install my mod
2) Download Loki's USS Loki from A2Files here: link to download
3) Copy the sod from this download to your sod directory, copy the tga files to your texturesrgb folder
4) Play and have fun.

I'm not 100% about this but it seems ok to me.  Like I said, check with moderators/administrators before trying this.
posted on August 27th, 2010, 9:08 pm
Last edited by Anonymous on August 27th, 2010, 9:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
It seems a bit harsh, isn't it? Nobody will download a mod if he needs to download then several other things and put them here and there. Just imagine if you would have to download 101 ships for a mod, put them in the right folders one by one... And we didn't talk about the mess-ups users could do with that, and then they go to the author of the mod that his mod doesn't working and what's wrong with it.
Credit-thing is also could be hard when the author changed his nick or mail address in the meantime.
Armada2Files policy is (at least it was when I lat time met with the question) that you have to try to contact with the original author. If he doesn't answer within a month, then you have to look for him on A2 forums. Maybe he left but gave universal permission, as Rick Knox/P81 did for example. But if there is such permission, you have to ask it on the forum and wait one more month, and if no answer arrives, you can presume that he allows you to use his work and you can use it with full credits.

Also, I can imagine that somebody just forgets that he gave permission :lol: Making a mod could take years you know...  :sweatdrop:
By the, how do you prove that the modder did not ask for permission if the original author is gone?
posted on August 27th, 2010, 9:12 pm
k_merse wrote:By the, how do you prove that the modder did not ask for permission if the original author is gone?


You don't.  Which is why i suggested the disclaimer route first.
posted on August 27th, 2010, 9:19 pm
loki_999 wrote:Lets say your mod uses the U.S.S. Loki which was uploaded by Loki to A2Files.  Loki has disappeared and is not contactable.  The mod remains on A2Files.  Then upload your mod without the Loki's files and then make your mod installation instructions like this:

1) Download and install my mod
2) Download Loki's USS Loki from A2Files here: link to download
3) Copy the sod from this download to your sod directory, copy the tga files to your texturesrgb folder
4) Play and have fun.

I'm not 100% about this but it seems ok to me.   Like I said, check with moderators/administrators before trying this.


Lol, thats what I did a year ago when I wasn't able to contact...K_merse(:P) about his century class.  But the case is, I believe, up to both the integrity of the modder, wether he feels comfortable releasing something possibly against its authors wishes, and to the moderators of the site of course.

I am personally against releasing something without permission, except in the case of 1) the author did not leave any contact info, or 2) the issue of permission wasn't covered and ms3d files were released with the mod(meaning, if they really cared if people stole their work, they wouldn't do that)
posted on August 28th, 2010, 2:08 am
Last edited by jetnova16 on August 28th, 2010, 2:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
k_merse wrote:It seems a bit harsh, isn't it? Nobody will download a mod if he needs to download then several other things and put them here and there. Just imagine if you would have to download 101 ships for a mod, put them in the right folders one by one... And we didn't talk about the mess-ups users could do with that, and then they go to the author of the mod that his mod doesn't working and what's wrong with it.
Credit-thing is also could be hard when the author changed his nick or mail address in the meantime.
Armada2Files policy is (at least it was when I lat time met with the question) that you have to try to contact with the original author. If he doesn't answer within a month, then you have to look for him on A2 forums. Maybe he left but gave universal permission, as Rick Knox/P81 did for example. But if there is such permission, you have to ask it on the forum and wait one more month, and if no answer arrives, you can presume that he allows you to use his work and you can use it with full credits.

Also, I can imagine that somebody just forgets that he gave permission :lol: Making a mod could take years you know...  :sweatdrop:
By the, how do you prove that the modder did not ask for permission if the original author is gone?

loki_999 wrote:You don't.  Which is why i suggested the disclaimer route first.



That's why they say that if the modder is gone then the permission has already been given. Because if the files are in the mod that the person is releasing but the creator can't be contacted, teh files need to be there to work for some reason or another. It makes it easier I guess to release teh mod and for hassels in the downloader for getting the required files.

I actually think I understand it because credit is still give in the Read-Me for mods that are used either way by respect. I haven't had to use it yet but when I've had modding problems I've tried contacting some mod creators with bounced back e-mails and even others with no replies so I can see why that policy exists.
posted on August 30th, 2010, 8:19 am
@Adm.Zaxxon

You tried to contact me and I didn't answer? Impossible... I'm using the same e-mail address since my first release for Armada II (which was the Century by the way :D). You must've mistyped the email perhaps.

@jetnova

No, this doesn't mean that you can use anyone's work. For example, there is DJ Curtis, who doesn't allow to port their mods any more to any game. Even if he leaves, we'll never have the right to port o use his works, no matter how many time passed (technically it's not true, but when enough time passed, none of us will mod Armada II or FO any more I think).
You cannot rely on universal permission, especially if you want to use someone's work for the same platform. So if you want to use any of my Armada II works for FO or Armada II you would need my permission even if I die (but I'll leave a letter for the community that you're free to use them with credits :P).
You need the permission of tie author or you simply cannot re-release is work. The backdoor here is the communities' custom. If let's say someone ported a particular model without permission, and it was released and then not removed, then you only need the releaser's permission to use his work in your mod.
posted on August 30th, 2010, 9:48 am
Last edited by Optec on August 30th, 2010, 9:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
nope, thats not true.
You do always need permission of the original creator of content in order to redistribute it (as long as the original creator did not give all its rights away)

If you cant reach the original author, its your bad luck.
If you cant find the original author, its your bad luck.
If the original author does not want to give away permission, its your bad luck.

at the bottom line, try to create content yourself. That will solve you a lot of problems and will greatly increase the value of your mod.
posted on August 30th, 2010, 2:22 pm
k_merse wrote:@Adm.Zaxxon

You tried to contact me and I didn't answer? Impossible... I'm using the same e-mail address since my first release for Armada II (which was the Century by the way :D). You must've mistyped the email perhaps.



Yeah, I e-mailed you both using Filefront's method, and through my personal e-mail, and neither were responded to.  I just copied the email adress out of the readme.  I think I even commented on on the download page on ff and nobody responded. :sweatdrop:  I just put instructions on how to download your ship and get it to work with the odfs I made for it. :sweatdrop:
posted on August 30th, 2010, 10:47 pm
k_merse wrote:@Adm.Zaxxon

You tried to contact me and I didn't answer? Impossible... I'm using the same e-mail address since my first release for Armada II (which was the Century by the way :D). You must've mistyped the email perhaps.

@jetnova

No, this doesn't mean that you can use anyone's work. For example, there is DJ Curtis, who doesn't allow to port their mods any more to any game. Even if he leaves, we'll never have the right to port o use his works, no matter how many time passed (technically it's not true, but when enough time passed, none of us will mod Armada II or FO any more I think).
You cannot rely on universal permission, especially if you want to use someone's work for the same platform. So if you want to use any of my Armada II works for FO or Armada II you would need my permission even if I die (but I'll leave a letter for the community that you're free to use them with credits :P).
You need the permission of tie author or you simply cannot re-release is work. The backdoor here is the communities' custom. If let's say someone ported a particular model without permission, and it was released and then not removed, then you only need the releaser's permission to use his work in your mod.



I understand what you are saying, but I also believe that every site has their own policies on releasing mods. With each site different it seems it'd be actually to upload any mod to the community if it isn't using units created by the mods creator.

I think the best bet is to follow the policies of the sitre I decide to upload my mod on if I did want to release it but at this time there are no plans for that.
posted on September 3rd, 2010, 5:52 pm
Optec wrote:nope, thats not true.
You do always need permission of the original creator of content in order to redistribute it (as long as the original creator did not give all its rights away)


I'm not saying that this in an example anyone should follow. But there are works (quite good ones) which were released this way and still are available and nobody complains about it.
posted on September 3rd, 2010, 7:58 pm
k_merse wrote:I'm not saying that this in an example anyone should follow. But there are works (quite good ones) which were released this way and still are available and nobody complains about it.


I agree.
posted on September 15th, 2010, 12:58 am
One question, how would it be wrong to post a mod with an auto-installer to only ask for help with the mod and to get crashing problems fixed when there are Fleet Ops SODs and Textures used for new units, namely this is the case for the Dominion in my mod for just a few new ships and stations.

If this once can be allowed, I have a auto-installer that can help those trying to help solve the problems in my mod that you can actually use to tey some fixes and also exsperience the crashing problems yourself.

Please let me know if you might want this file. If I'm given permission to post it, I'll post the downloadable link to my Thread involving the crashing errors in my game.

Thank you for your help, cooperation and understanding.
posted on September 20th, 2010, 11:13 am
posting something in an public forum is releasing something to the public. Try arguing with your local DVD store about posting the videos "just for testing" in your forum and you will see what i mean.

Besides that, a complete install is not of much help identifing an error. If a certain file is not working for you, you should try finding help about that specific file or error, not on your complete private mod. You dont expect others to do all the work, do you?
posted on September 20th, 2010, 8:52 pm
Optec wrote:posting something in an public forum is releasing something to the public. Try arguing with your local DVD store about posting the videos "just for testing" in your forum and you will see what i mean.

Besides that, a complete install is not of much help identifing an error. If a certain file is not working for you, you should try finding help about that specific file or error, not on your complete private mod. You dont expect others to do all the work, do you?


No I don't expect others to do the work and that has never been the case, I was just looking for help for an error that at the time seemed to be confusing everyone, but then we've managed to find out that they were all connected to one minor problem actually. One minor problem but my game into an uproar of unidentifiable crashes for two months!
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