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UPDATED 14/06/18 - *** Rules for User Made Mods and Edits of PDS games ***

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  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
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Would be Paradox OK with me releasing open source converter from binary save game format to plain text as part of my replayer?
There was no official response to the petition thread, so I had no choice but to write this to replay binary saves. If desired the replayer does not have to expose decoded saves to users, but anyone with a little knowledge of Java could easily write a standalone converter since sources are publicly hosted on Bitbucket.
I have converted some saves and it seems to be working quite well (not very fast though) - most of them can be even loaded by the game, all of them can be replayed. Of course the testing sample is quite small and it will take some time to eliminate bugs and add all possible tokens/keywords.
 
Would need to check with CaptGars for that.
 
If I make a mod that changes the localization of both vanilla and DLC files, do I have to seperate the vanilla files and the DLC files into seperate mods, or is it OK since it's localization?
 
shal5 said:
If I make a mod that changes the localization of both vanilla and DLC files, do I have to seperate the vanilla files and the DLC files into seperate mods, or is it OK since it's localization?
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As long as you are not adding those events in so that people without the DLC have them appear in the game then you are OK as long as it is just your localization text you are providing and no PDS graphics/sound or coding ... .
 
Can I make a 'mod' that basically replaces all mentions of Paradox Interactive w/ my own name, then sell it? Just kidding.

Seriously though, for a savegame converter, say, Vicky 2 -> HOI3: can I reuse for example the flag files from V2 in a mod for HOI3. IE, the confederate states flag from V2 dropping into an HOI3 mod. Is that okay, or should I go ahead and just rebuild them all?
 
MiltonS said:
Can I make a 'mod' that basically replaces all mentions of Paradox Interactive w/ my own name, then sell it? Just kidding.

Seriously though, for a savegame converter, say, Vicky 2 -> HOI3: can I reuse for example the flag files from V2 in a mod for HOI3. IE, the confederate states flag from V2 dropping into an HOI3 mod. Is that okay, or should I go ahead and just rebuild them all?
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Every time I ask about specifics, it all comes down to "If you cannot ensure they own the products the assets are from then you cannot use them."

I think that some times for simple things it is hard to understand why not, but it comes down to the slippery slope. If you allow this guy to use "A", why can I not use "B".
 
MiltonS said:
Can I make a 'mod' that basically replaces all mentions of Paradox Interactive w/ my own name, then sell it? Just kidding.

Seriously though, for a savegame converter, say, Vicky 2 -> HOI3: can I reuse for example the flag files from V2 in a mod for HOI3. IE, the confederate states flag from V2 dropping into an HOI3 mod. Is that okay, or should I go ahead and just rebuild them all?
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From a practical standpoint, it is simple enough to just use the original sources of the flags. 99.9% of the flags in Vic2 and HoI3 are from public domain sources that can be found easily by googling or searching Wikipedia, so recreating them is extremely simple, thus avoiding any chance of any copyright issues.
As an example, the Confederate flag is in the public domain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CSA_FLAG_28.11.1861-1.5.1863.svg
 
Distributing the exe is forbidden - understandable.
Is distributing a script that injects code into a running instance of the game allowed? ((specifically, a script that enables the 'westernize' command on the console, bypassing the 'Command available only for developers.' error non-PI employees usually get))

EDIT:
MiltonS said:
Seriously though, for a savegame converter, say, Vicky 2 -> HOI3: can I reuse for example the flag files from V2 in a mod for HOI3. IE, the confederate states flag from V2 dropping into an HOI3 mod. Is that okay, or should I go ahead and just rebuild them all?
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If the savegame converter doesn't carry the flags, but reads them from a Vic2 directory the user has to specifiy, this should be fine. If someone redistributes his generated mod, it's his business to ensure people own Vic2 to use that mod.
 
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shierholzer said:
Distributing the exe is forbidden - understandable.
Is distributing a script that injects code into a running instance of the game allowed? ((specifically, a script that enables the 'westernize' command on the console, bypassing the 'Command available only for developers.' error non-PI employees usually get))
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Provided I am understanding you correctly they I do not see a problem with it, since it would require them to have the EXE on their system.
 
Castellon said:
4) The User Mod may not claim ANY kind of license or copyright of any kind (You can still have Credits).
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Does this mean that, for instance, if I write an event for a EU4 mod, that then I cannot reuse my event's text description for an open source game I am making and distributing under the GPLv2 license?
 
Andrelvis said:
Does this mean that, for instance, if I write an event for a EU4 mod, that then I cannot reuse my event's text description for an open source game I am making and distributing under the GPLv2 license?
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No. Since it's your text, you're free to distribute it under multiple licenses at the same time. As a EU4 mod, it's copy left (Public Domain is pretty much a Yankee-only concept), as a standalone game it's GPL.
 
I already replied to your PM but I will repost the answer here for the benefit of all.

Nope it is your writing do what you wish with it. The rule just means you cannot post a lic or CR info with the mod.

Primarily we have that rule because some people put open source lic in and people get confused with our stuff which is not open source obviously. Inexperience leads to the verbiage being used applying to our stuff as well which we cannot have.
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Castellon said:
I already replied to your PM but I will repost the answer here for the benefit of all.
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Castellon, thanks for including that here. I know a lot of the feedback you've received has been with regards to licensing issues, and I appreciate your inclusion of what the issue has been from Paradox's end. It's useful to understand the issues you've encountered, and how they've led to the ruling mentioned a few posts above.

Might it be useful to include some type of license document within each game, detailing what is the PI IP, that must be included/referenced in each user creation? I realize this would require more input from your legal team, but I think it would help everyone out in the long run.
 
Part of the difficulty there is the ever changing nature of our games they tend to evolve with large amounts of DLC being released.
The other issue is not just the initial document, and the changes/review of it every time a DLC was released. It would mean we need to review every license of every Mod posted on our site, and possibly have multiple correspondences and discussions ... with each modder related to it, These conversation out of necessity with our legal staff, something we are just not prepared to do.
 
Does Paradox have a position on using ModDB to host mods? Several mods do so currently, so I have to assume it is allowed, but the current wording of the rules seem to put it in a rather grey area.
 
Not currently allowed or supported.
 
Castellon said:
Not currently allowed or supported.
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Guess I'll have to send you a couple reports then.
Note that the report is essentially a protest. I'd much prefer if ModDB was allowed as it is a useful tool, but it is important to me that the rules are applied consistently.
 
Keep in mind some may be grandfathered in.
 
Castellon said:
Keep in mind some may be grandfathered in.
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This is exactly the type of inconsistent enforcement I dislike.
Essentially, mods are rewarded for having broken the rules prior to them being codified in the form are today. External links being banned from this forum (in my opinion a very strange policy, but that's an entirely different topic) has been a rule since long before CKII was even released.

If using ModDB is fine for a few specific mods, it should be fine for all mods.
 
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