Please include modding in EULA

[SvK]

Since it took weeks for Relic's official forums to be allowed to post screenshots of a Relic game, it's obvious that Games Workshop is very serious about its intellectual property. So, please, if you intend to allow or support modding, put it in the EULA! Don't make me give my word that I will not modify, change, extract, and so on anything about the game, then give me a place where I am encouraged to do just that. It doesn't make any sense. As an example of how it whould be done, Quake 3 details how it may be changed and how its assets can be used in its EULA.

It would be very helpful to get an official statement from the various intellectual property holders about what is permissible RE:
changing Dawn of War itself
using Dawn of War assets
creating things based on Warhammer 40K

[IWAssassin]

Some of this is already covered by Games Workshop, In fact they have a specific section in their legal area about modding games. In general the restrictions is it must be a TC [you cannot mix 40k with Barney and Friends for example] and must still fit with the universe [eg dont texture your IG Chimeras hot pink].

[Kained]

Heres (http://www.gamesworkshop.com/can_cant_do.htm#cando) Games Workshops official Intellectual Property Policy with a specific subsection on Modifications, Total Conversions, and Games.

It may seem pretty tough, but its there in case theres a problem not to create problems.

[General Nuke Em]

Oh boy, the GW Stormtroopers will hunt you down and slay you if you get a WH40K tatoo.

Will Relic sent their own stormtroopers to hunt me down and slay me if I get a HW tatoo?

[BlackTemplar]

That's a good Idea, Nuke Em...


Think I'll get a Hiigaran symbol tattoo on my arm... or maybe Karan Sjet on my, like, back or something.

That'd be hot..

[SpliFF]

I think the EULA still needs to cover this. GW's 'legal' page is not really legal. What it says specifically is that you CANNOT use Games Workshop IP for ANY reason BUT if you do all the things they ask then they MIGHT let you live. There is nothing in either document that protects your mod if somebody at GW doesn't like it or it competes with an official expansion. Making a mod is breaking the law unless you plan to 'interoperate' with the engine under the DMCA and do not include any GW trademarks or images (ie, a TC). DMCA also makes the Relic forums illegal since they provide tools which can be used to circumvent some of the limits of the demo (like playing as orks). As SvK said, we are reverse-engineering and decompiling here - even though we agreed not to.

I am not a lawyer, I don't even live in the US, so forgive me if i'm wrong.

[arcyaxiom]

'Reverse engineering' the code, to my knowledge, is illegal, and unless they release official tools and say "you can/cannot do this/that/him/her/that badger" then you'll have to play the games and expansions they provide. Having said that, as long as there's no commercial gain for writing these mods and they don't harm the image (or financial pockets ;P) of Relic then I don't think they'll mind all that much, they seem to support modding quite well. The community grows, their pockets grow, simple as that really .. GW support modding quite well also, models are converted all the time and as long as they fit in teh universe adn don't take the piss out of GW they don't mind much either. Just make sure you don't infringe on other companies rights with a mod (IE no BArney - v - Rugrats mods!)

[eberkain]

What about non-WH40k stuff? Say I create a new race that is balanced with the 4 default races, but one that isnt in the WH40k universe...

[arcyaxiom]

Depends on their point of view on it, really .. Anything like a new race would be a radical departure from the "fluff" they've created, as it'd mean inventing new worlds, storylines, interracting them with the current races, etc., from past experiences with GW they don't seem to mind too much but wouldn't like you getting too popular with your new race incase it "confuses" people into believing it's official due to lots of people liking it .. Kind of a grey area from what I can tell :S

[Rymafyr]

I also agree it would be nice to have official sanction from the powers that be, Relic and Games-Workshop, on the ability to mod Dawn of War specifically. I would like to say using common sense should prevail here though I have been called a dreamer.

Games-Workshop historically promotes modding through their TT games. Now, most modifications concerning rules are given their own clasification as 'House Rules' and are not allowed for official Tournaments.

Models can be modded extensibly and with GW's VDR rules one can even create new vehicles. These are typically allowed in tournaments to my knowledge. The one thing that is clear is that modifications must not include pieces from other Models. You can't put pieces from D&D mini's on GW minis for your modification. So if you scratch build a special Space Marine figure that is ok, just don't mass produce it and sell it.

With DoW, obviously GW doesn't own the engine used or possibly even the coding but the IP is theirs, make no mistake. So I would think you could conceivably make a completely new army with your own IP and use that in game without so much as a problem. Whether someone approves or not of it being used with the GW IP is complete speculation however, I just don't see a problem with that myself as long as one is not mixing the two together. For example mixing Space Marines with a Wolfrat army of some kind would be completely wrong.