Beelzebuddy
17th Feb 05, 11:52 AM
Anyone who has spent any amount of time in this forum knows that the most common reason for failed mods is beginning with an idea but lacking the skills to see it to completion - this results in the huge number of "do my mod for me!" threads that I suspect infest every modding forum.
The tragic nature of these individuals' predicament is that they are starving in the midst of plenty. Altogether the dozens of full mods and scores of mini mods here on the forum constitute a plethora of resources, but generally go unused due to the honesty of the modders. That is, if I were a modeler I'd rather you not use a model I made without asking me first, so I am less likely to use someone else's model without a large communication overhead that makes small projects generally not worth it. Furthermore, the personal feelings people have toward their work cloud any common basis of free use: what one person might be fine with would give another a hissy fit.
It occurred to me that there is a solution to this woe: Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/) licensing, and this thread. Using CC, you (the modder) can shape how your work gets used, and it lets the people who want to use your work know where they stand. Since I hope I'm not the only person here who'd like to see their work grow beyond them, this thread is intended to be a compilation of permissions and, if necessary, an explanation of CC licensing.
Guidelines for adding to the list:
Try to limit your additions to things that work in-game. That might be a nice chunk of pseudocode, but it's useless to anyone who couldn't code it themselves.
Give a short description of your work - is it models? Code? What features does it have over work that has already been made available?
Give a URL or some other way of reaching your material besides having you personally transfer everything. If they still have to contact you, coordinate, etc, it defeats the purpose of this thread.
Only add to the list if it's your material. That is, unless you created it or are leading the project it's used in, you have no right to speak for what can be done with it, even if the original author let you download it sometime in the past.
Guidelines for using the material:
Respect others' licenses. If they specify something, do it or don't use it.
People who offer something are under no obligation to adapt their work to suit your particular mod. Ask, but don't demand.
You will be expected to know how to extract the material you need (from a .big file, say), and how to integrate it with what you have (you may not be able to model, but you ought to be able to use a model someone else gives you).
Since it would be slightly hypocritical of me to create this thread and contribute nothing, I'm adding my mods. I've repeatedly mentioned that anyone can use my code (with attribution), but I still get a PM from time to time asking for permission anyway.
Type: Code only - both gamerule modifications and a .big file.
Adds: The most notable addition to the current body of available work is my Flagships mod, which creates a unique gametype where small, automated fleets are controlled by larger orderable ships. Also included is a library of SobGroup functions that (imo) make scripting ship actions considerably easier.
Locations: You can find my mods from my signature, or here (http://www.angelfire.com/ego2/inquisitiveidiot/) for the sig-impaired.
Terms (click the image):
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gif (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
http://creativecommons.org/icon/by/deed.gifhttp://creativecommons.org/icon/sa/deed.gif
In other words, you can use my work in whatever way you see fit, just give me credit and release your adaptations under identical terms so others can do the same.
FYI, you can create your own CC license here. (http://creativecommons.org/license/)
The tragic nature of these individuals' predicament is that they are starving in the midst of plenty. Altogether the dozens of full mods and scores of mini mods here on the forum constitute a plethora of resources, but generally go unused due to the honesty of the modders. That is, if I were a modeler I'd rather you not use a model I made without asking me first, so I am less likely to use someone else's model without a large communication overhead that makes small projects generally not worth it. Furthermore, the personal feelings people have toward their work cloud any common basis of free use: what one person might be fine with would give another a hissy fit.
It occurred to me that there is a solution to this woe: Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/) licensing, and this thread. Using CC, you (the modder) can shape how your work gets used, and it lets the people who want to use your work know where they stand. Since I hope I'm not the only person here who'd like to see their work grow beyond them, this thread is intended to be a compilation of permissions and, if necessary, an explanation of CC licensing.
Guidelines for adding to the list:
Try to limit your additions to things that work in-game. That might be a nice chunk of pseudocode, but it's useless to anyone who couldn't code it themselves.
Give a short description of your work - is it models? Code? What features does it have over work that has already been made available?
Give a URL or some other way of reaching your material besides having you personally transfer everything. If they still have to contact you, coordinate, etc, it defeats the purpose of this thread.
Only add to the list if it's your material. That is, unless you created it or are leading the project it's used in, you have no right to speak for what can be done with it, even if the original author let you download it sometime in the past.
Guidelines for using the material:
Respect others' licenses. If they specify something, do it or don't use it.
People who offer something are under no obligation to adapt their work to suit your particular mod. Ask, but don't demand.
You will be expected to know how to extract the material you need (from a .big file, say), and how to integrate it with what you have (you may not be able to model, but you ought to be able to use a model someone else gives you).
Since it would be slightly hypocritical of me to create this thread and contribute nothing, I'm adding my mods. I've repeatedly mentioned that anyone can use my code (with attribution), but I still get a PM from time to time asking for permission anyway.
Type: Code only - both gamerule modifications and a .big file.
Adds: The most notable addition to the current body of available work is my Flagships mod, which creates a unique gametype where small, automated fleets are controlled by larger orderable ships. Also included is a library of SobGroup functions that (imo) make scripting ship actions considerably easier.
Locations: You can find my mods from my signature, or here (http://www.angelfire.com/ego2/inquisitiveidiot/) for the sig-impaired.
Terms (click the image):
http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gif (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)
http://creativecommons.org/icon/by/deed.gifhttp://creativecommons.org/icon/sa/deed.gif
In other words, you can use my work in whatever way you see fit, just give me credit and release your adaptations under identical terms so others can do the same.
FYI, you can create your own CC license here. (http://creativecommons.org/license/)