Will Modders be allowed to touch DLC units?

[klesh]

Hi,

Just curious if modders will be able to create skins for the DLC units in the future? Seeing as they are sort of like the various SF units (that I havent seen reskins for), I'm wondering if it will be considered contraband.

Is there a way to distribute skins to people that have rightfully purchased the units while at the same time not providing a means for people that haven't bought them to use them?

[S-te-Fan]

Ofcourse, There are people who bought the SF editon and edit the skins so why not? As long as you do not include them in the download there's no problem.

[klesh]

Right, I didnt know if making a skin for (for example: Death's Head Hussars) and putting it up for download here would de facto "give" the unit to anyone who downloaded the skin, even those who don't have the unit properly unlocked. A sort of inadvertent "unlocking" of them. I haven't opened any of the skin .packs to see if there are more than just the image files in there. Thanks for your swift reply.

[l33tl4m3r]

Using ANY resources (skins, models, unit cards, etc.) from the SF, Pre-Order, or Elite units and making them available in any way other than purchasing them is considered illegal I am almost sure.

[klesh]

Using ANY resources (skins, models, unit cards, etc.) from the SF, Pre-Order, or Elite units and making them available in any way other than purchasing them is considered illegal I am almost sure.

Right, thats what I thought too. So in short, "no" there wont be any reskins of these units. Looks like I'll be dealing with alot of neon blue Dutch troops again.

[Yoram777]

Right, thats what I thought too. So in short, "no" there wont be any reskins of these units. Looks like I'll be dealing with alot of neon blue Dutch troops again.

lol, there already are reskins for those units! they're just not released yet...

take a look here:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...241923&page=16

[klesh]

lol, there already are reskins for those units! they're just not realeased yet...

take a look here:
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...241923&page=16

Oooh, now those are the kind of uniforms I can get into! Fantastic, these are the same guys that I have old UP skins from, they are fabulous. These new Blue Guards are pure sex appeal! TY for the information!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[DanimalKingdom]

Oooh, now those are the kind of uniforms I can get into! Fantastic, these are the same guys that I have old UP skins from, they are fabulous. These new Blue Guards are pure sex appeal! TY for the information!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

This skin is brilliant! Early era line infantry, finally! Can we implement early line infantry units (Spanish Succession, Northern War era) for all factions somehow?

[DisgruntledGoat]

A reskin shouldn't be an issue frankly. Just look at Oblivion official mods, which were reskinned to no end. Just don't distribute the original models and textures and its fine. Being super anal about it is frankly a good way to slow down the modding community.

[l33tl4m3r]

A reskin shouldn't be an issue frankly. Just look at Oblivion official mods, which were reskinned to no end. Just don't distribute the original models and textures and its fine. Being super anal about it is frankly a good way to slow down the modding community.

Yoram777 and Klesh; Goat is reiterating what I meant;

I did not mean the units could not be re-skinned as if you re-skin them and include that skin in a pack someone who does not have the units unlocked will still not benefit from the reskin.

I meant that you cannot take skins, models, units cards, etc. FROM the new units and apply it to something ELSE (new units you make yourself) and distribute it.

The DLC will most likely be treated the same as the SF units.

[OneManShow]

Its doesnt works, the models files of DLC units are crypted. Try to mod them and u will get a CTD. Say thanks to SEGA/CA. You pay for see Swiss guards who are limited to 1 unit in the game. Its a shame.

[Element_Five]

Its doesnt works, the models files of DLC units are crypted. Try to mod them and u will get a CTD. Say thanks to SEGA/CA. You pay for see Swiss guards who are limited to 1 unit in the game. Its a shame.

Not that expensive though, but I get your point.

[Göteborgare]

They will probably lock down all modders trying to model these units themselves.
Probably the only reason behind their snailing of the modtools, they want to release as many units as possible as dlc to hinder modders to release them.

[Göteborgare]

jarnomiedema >

What about you make your own model, and your own texture of the Death Head Hussars and release them. CA will go berserk on you for 'stealing' their unit since they released it first in a ce/dlc.
Which is why they will release as many dlcs as possible before they will release the modding tools. This way they have claimed all the interesting units, and players must buy them to have access.

[erasmus777]

jarnomiedema >

What about you make your own model, and your own texture of the Death Head Hussars and release them. CA will go berserk on you for 'stealing' their unit since they released it first in a ce/dlc.
Which is why they will release as many dlcs as possible before they will release the modding tools. This way they have claimed all the interesting units, and players must buy them to have access.

No, CA wouldn't say anything. They can't copyright history. Read the recent interview with CA: http://etw.strategyinformer.com/arti...n-brigdan.html

Here's what they said on this issue:

Strategy Informer: What do you say to the argument that with these new pay-to-play unit packs, you’ve started ‘licensing’ the various historical units? This will also have a profound impact on the modding community, as it effectively stops them from creating their own versions?

Kieran Brigden: That’s just not the case. Nobody has a ‘license’ on history, any more than a museum or reference book could take issue with us depicting something of history in our titles and claiming we’d breached their copyright. Our modders will continue to produce high quality work of their own design, we will do the same. It’s not a competition, it’s a cooperative.

[johncage]

No, CA wouldn't say anything. They can't copyright history. Read the recent interview with CA: http://etw.strategyinformer.com/arti...n-brigdan.html

Here's what they said on this issue:

Strategy Informer: What do you say to the argument that with these new pay-to-play unit packs, you’ve started ‘licensing’ the various historical units? This will also have a profound impact on the modding community, as it effectively stops them from creating their own versions?

Kieran Brigden: That’s just not the case. Nobody has a ‘license’ on history, any more than a museum or reference book could take issue with us depicting something of history in our titles and claiming we’d breached their copyright. Our modders will continue to produce high quality work of their own design, we will do the same. It’s not a competition, it’s a cooperative.

strategy informer hasn't been properly informed of the situation it seems, or they're pandering to ca with that type of (canned?) question.

that's not what people are concerned about at all. we don't care if there's 10 different versions of deaths head hussars. people are arguing that the official dlc units should not affect the release of the mod tools...which is the only possibly way at present to create new models.

[erasmus777]

strategy informer hasn't been properly informed of the situation it seems, or they're pandering to ca with that type of (canned?) question.

that's not what people are concerned about at all. we don't care if there's 10 different versions of deaths head hussars. people are arguing that the official dlc units should not affect the release of the mod tools...which is the only possibly way at present to create new models.

I was responding to a specific comment about CA coming down on people who created their own version of historical units. Regardless, CA promised mod tools, not modeling tools, with no particular timetable for their delivery. AFAIK, they have never provided a model converter. Given that their model format is proprietary, I wouldn't expect to see an official one any time soon. A huge help would be a tool for editing the startpos, allowing us to create new factions, change unit starting positions, dig into the AI, etc.

[Göteborgare]

I'd rather go with what every corporation does, and that is ing up their consumers.
And CA hasnt been all friendly, and the fact that they are holding out on the tools so that they can release more dlc before modders can make those units just proves it.

[Göteborgare]

And then we have the fact that they are releasing DLC's in the first place.
They release an unfinished game, then expect people to pay more money to make it an ok game.

[Bladerunner]

http://shoguntotalwar.yuku.com/topic...Total-War.html

Modding: we want to give the modders a push in the back by releasing some tools we also work with, with these tools you can as a designer make adjustments without having to harass the programmers, this make these tools ideal for modders. We're not certain yet whether will release these tools with the game itself or put them online after the release of the game.

When CA tell before release, they want to put the tools in the box or put the online after release, than "after release" does not mean after half a year for me...