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Editing the Game engine

S

Shuriken

Landlubber
I apologize if this has been discussed, but I couldn't find anything in search.

I've never been quite clear on this, it is illegal to alter a game's core engine without lisence to that engine, putting things like multiple cannon types, new sword combat etc. out of the question, not feasible but legally?

Thanks.
 
Aw, who wants to bring legality into a game about pirates?

But my own take on it would be, since you've purchased the game (and you have, right?), you ought to be free to do whatever you like to the software, so long as you don't sell it.

And if you're capable of doing something that dynamic, you'd have plenty of people around here to back you up.
 
alan_smithee said:
Aw, who wants to bring legality into a game about pirates?
Thats what I thought first.

But my own take on it would be, since you've purchased the game (and you have, right?), you ought to be free to do whatever you like to the software, so long as you don't sell it.
Click to expand...

Aye (although it is currently somewhere in my room and can't be bothered to dig for it, so it was easier to 'find it') thats how I feel, but I suppose companies don't want people going off and making completely free games off of their top quality engines that they could make money off of.

And if you're capable of doing something that dynamic, you'd have plenty of people around here to back you up.
Click to expand...

If I could do it I would back mysefl up as well. I'd just like to mess around with it, make little tweaks etc. since I'm not learned enough (and don't have the time to become so, enlisting in two years) to do so. I would however pester everyone else until they got it done.

By the way, has anyone even asked if any tools could be released? Because I just did, waiting for an answer now...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
What sorts of tools? Whom did you ask?

If all else fails, if you're still worried about legality... you could base your operation in Switzerland or some place they can't get you. Somewhere with lax copyright laws.
 
<!--QuoteBegin-alan_smithee+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(alan_smithee)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->What sorts of tools? Whom did you ask?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Just 'tools' or 'tips' from the developers. Never be too greedy when the other person has all the strings in their hands.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If all else fails, if you're still worried about legality... you could base your operation in Switzerland or some place they can't get you. Somewhere with lax copyright laws.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Hey, I could own lots of guns there without the soccer moms complaining!

EDIT:I mailed the Vice President of development at Akella, if I recall. The problem with tools is, Disney is probably too, well Disney to release them.
 
There *are* some tools available. Akella released a plugin for Maya 4.5, a GM Viewer, and some other stuff, IIRC...

Check the POTC Wiki to download these:

<a href="http://robotsdontbleed.com/wacko/wakka.php?wakka=ModdingTools&v=1ye" target="_blank">http://robotsdontbleed.com/wacko/wakka.php...dingTools&v=1ye</a>

Hope this helps! <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
I see, you must mean modding tools. And you already have the ones that are out -- Akella's Maya 4.5 plugin, and all the file viewers and converters? I can't imagine there would be much else.
 
<!--QuoteBegin-alan_smithee+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(alan_smithee)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I see, you must mean modding tools. And you already have the ones that are out -- Akella's Maya 4.5 plugin, and all the file viewers and converters? I can't imagine there would be much else.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

A way to mess with animations, models etc.
 
I've worked in modding communities on other games before. What I can say from those expericences is that 1st. the companies always know what you are doing. 2nd, if they don't want you to be modding, then they cut you off. Nothing anyone ever feels bad about, just a letter requesting that the website be closed and modding ceased. This generally happens if the modded game competes with something the publisher is planning on releasing. However, Counterstrike and Team Fortress were intially mods, now they are sold in stores. There is an actual company that makes mods for the IL2 and Combat Flight Simulator Series, but Maddox Games and Microsoft have let it continue. Desert Combat for Battlefield 1942 is another good example. While you can download it for free now, eventually you'll have to buy it. All of the different Desert Combat versions have been tests towards creating an actual game.

The big tip off that akella doesn't care is that they have communicated with the PAsite and discussed mods/etc, they have also given us the Maya Plugin, which basically means: go ahead. No, I wouldn't worry about anything bad happening from modding this game.
 
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Hi, ****.

It's really nice to hear that people want to make mods for our game.
We really appreciate that. But unfortunately the question of releasing
any of game tools is not for us to decide. You should address with
this request to Bethesda Softworks and Disney first. And if they will
decide to make tools public - we'll gladly do it.

Best regards, ***<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

`E-mail` from an Akella employee. Well, I suppose it's time I wrote to Bethesda.
 
<!--QuoteBegin-alan_smithee+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(alan_smithee)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->But my own take on it would be, since you've purchased the game (and you have, right?), you ought to be free to do whatever you like to the software, so long as you don't sell it.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


ooooohhhhh no, you didn't really buy the game, you bought a licence to it, and you clicked "i agree" on the licence agreement...
 
<!--QuoteBegin-CapitainDams+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CapitainDams)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Right Kieron but it's the same<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

No it isn't. You didn't buy the rights to the actual game, just the rights to a lisence. Big difference. Besides all that, Disney is a corporate whore, I'm worried about what they'll do when they find prostitutes in their 'Disney' game where you kill people.
 
Shuriken, be specific about what you want to do, and we can point you in the right direction regarding tools or other help (tutorials, for instance). There is a HUGE community of modders in the PotC "community" and we've been working on modding this game since the day it was released (and even beforehand).

Don't bother writing to Bethesda or Disney... HARD FACT - if they'd wanted to put out tools for modding PotC, they would have done it already... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" /> Bethesda didn't even bother putting out a patch for this unfortunately very buggy game (even tho Akella did one for the Russian version). I am sure they are in the business of looking at the horizon ahead, not at fiddling with something they published almost a year ago.

PLEASE look at the tools that are in the PotC WIKI! (see my previous posting)

They are what we have and the only things we have to do what we can to the game.

With these tools we can REMODEL or MODEL NEW SHIPS and other things in the game.

Animations we cannot touch. We don't have a way to deal with that, HOWEVER if you should happen to discover some way to hack into it, we'd be DELIGHTED to hear it!

We are very open to suggestion here, and we welcome new modders with open arms - please feel free to contribute what you will... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />
 
<!--QuoteBegin-CatalinaThePirate+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CatalinaThePirate)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Shuriken, be specific about what you want to do, and we can point you in the right direction regarding tools or other help (tutorials, for instance). There is a HUGE community of modders in the PotC "community" and we've been working on modding this game since the day it was released (and even beforehand).

Don't bother writing to Bethesda or Disney... HARD FACT - if they'd wanted to put out tools for modding PotC, they would have done it already... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":rolleyes:" border="0" alt="rolleyes.gif" /> Bethesda didn't even bother putting out a patch for this unfortunately very buggy game (even tho Akella did one for the Russian version). I am sure they are in the business of looking at the horizon ahead, not at fiddling with something they published almost a year ago.

PLEASE look at the tools that are in the PotC WIKI! (see my previous posting)

They are what we have and the only things we have to do what we can to the game.

With these tools we can REMODEL or MODEL NEW SHIPS and other things in the game.

Animations we cannot touch. We don't have a way to deal with that, HOWEVER if you should happen to discover some way to hack into it, we'd be DELIGHTED to hear it!

We are very open to suggestion here, and we welcome new modders with open arms - please feel free to contribute what you will... <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheers" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Alright, thanks. I'll just go chew on the ani files now.
 
<!--QuoteBegin-CatalinaThePirate+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CatalinaThePirate)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Shuriken, be specific about what you want to do<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Oh, about that, here are the things I would like to do. I'm more of a sound/2d art man, but I have a friend who likes to code, so he would end up doing most of it...

-Select different cannon types on individual gun emplacements (possibly select which guns you want to be firing mid battle)
-Actual fencing
-Better player movement
-More islands
-More areas
-Ability to become governor of one of those new islands
-Ability to become officer for a country, commanding their fort and fleet (more than four ships)
-a lot more islands
-a lot more areas

Of course, I have a feeling all this is a bit over my head, but I'm going to try (or at least, do some of the work and enslave others to do what I can't, <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />) and if I'm going to do something, I do it right.
[/list]
 
I didn't read every letter posted here, so it could be that it's been said before but...

Indeed you purchased a license to use the game. What you do to that game while in your posession is pretty much your own dealings. Even if you convert it to a F1 racing game, they won't come to check it.
BUT, if you alter the core, and release that into the public, bang, you're dead (not literally ofcourse, just a figure of speech), as you are distributing something for which you don't have a license to distribute it.

That's the main difference, yes you may alter the engine, but no you may not distribute the engine, neither in altered form (as it's still based on that original engine).

There are certain public licenses though, which allow you to freely distribute software, even when you altered it yourself, but that's a whole different story (and doesn't apply to the engine).
 
*sigh* From Bethesda

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Sorry, but we have no plans to release any tools for the purpose of
modifying or altering the game. We have done so for other games in the past,
but only when those tools are designed to be released, go through our QA
process, and so forth.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So it's back to finding someone I can chain to a wall till they figure out the file headers. I swear that's all that'll happen with the chains!
 
Hmm...

The engine files are in C, correct? At work we develop with .NET technologies, and for the purpose of using legacy C code, I believe there are certain tools available that can extract the headers from compiled files, so they are usable from .NET... I'll ask around with the developers tomorrow, but not after I have a look myself <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />.

I'll get back to you on this.
 
It's been a while since I've been a real developer, but I never really worked with C. Could you describe in short exactly what you need so that I can explain this to the developers?
I know what you mean on the surface, but when we're starting tech talk I can notice it's becoming rusty <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="icon_wink.gif" />.
 
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