I don't know where else to put this as this is not just for Chucklefish games... this applies to any game that allows for modding. i wanna know if its generally acceptable or generally frowned upon to do this when modding. is it fine for people to look at other peoples mods and recreate parts of it... mostly for learning. i don't mean copy and paste bits of code or scripts then use that. i mean look at it and remake it. rewrite it and edit the rewrite. only look at the original. kinda like looking at a well known piece of art...and trying to draw it WITHOUT tracing. the reason i ask...is because i learn best from example. i am not sure if it goes against modding ethics or not to use other peoples stuff as a learning tool. i have an idea for a mod in mind...and some of that mod has ideas that functions in another mod. i don't know how to make those things work...and i want to learn how to do it. another example is taking apart a clock (and having basic understanding of how it works) and learning first hand how it works. and then trying to make a new clock from scratch using only new parts and what you learned from taking apart the clock.
I'm no expert on the matter, but taking apart another mod to understand how it works should be perfectly fine. Obviously, you should avoid copying their work, unless they give explicit permission or provide its assets to the public domain. But simply furthering your own understanding isn't doing any harm.
Like Jonesy said reverse engineering mods for information on how to make your own is fine, I have actually done that to make my mods (You can find released ones in these forums) and a few personal edits of others (Those are not going to be uploaded anywhere). Sometimes when looking at how a mod was made, you might find some bugs that the original author missed and/or figure out how to fix them, if you do make these discoveries, always report it to the original mod author first (Something I have done as well), also good if you have ideas to improve an existing mod.
We had this issue come up a few times. A few basic guidelines would be 1. Reverse engineering for learning process is fine 2. Is the idea original? Or is it part of an existing IP? For example if some one made a Zelda mod - it doesn't mean no one else can make zelda mods unless it was Nintendo making that mod, or some one licensed specifically by Nintendo to make it. If some random person makes a Zelda mod - they hold absolutely zero ownership to that idea. So feel free to make something similar in that same universe. They do though will hold some partial ownership to the specific assets they make. Though it won't hold up legally without Nintendo's official consent, still would be bad form to use some one else assets without their permission. Now if some one makes a Mod called 3 eyes Badgers - and was their own unique universe. You wouldn't be able to use that universe unless you get permission from that mod creator to do derivatives, or if they have a license they placed which allows it.
thanks for answering my question guys. you are awesome. i feel better knowing that doing that isnt unethical. (as long as i do it correctly)
Hi, I know this thread is old, but I needed to make sure, 1) if I was to take a pic of a weapon from a different mod, then recolor it, made my own codes for it and named it something completely different, then posted it as my own, would that be a problem? 2) the owner of the mod asks that consent must be given before altering or redristubting the mod, but he/she has not been active for the last two years, then i guess i would still need to wait for his/her reply right?
1) you should still give credit to the art that you recolored since ultimately the creator of the mod created it(or took it from a different source) 2)better to wait for his/her reply, since it helps to avoid trouble/drama and stuff.
