Maps/Mods license and redistribution

[nanardon]

Hi,

Not sure this is the good topic, neither the good forum, but I hope some people will read and be able to reply.

I am a contributor of the Mandriva linux distribution and we already have spring packaged, but we only the game.

To make the game setup easier I'd like to package some mods and maps so people would just have to use the standard mandriva installation tools to have games installed.

However, spring itself is under GPL, but what about mod like NoTA and other ? What about maps we can find on this website ?

Is it possible to a distribution like mandriva to redistribute it ?

I also wonder it depends author of each add-ons...

Thanks by advance.

[Regret]

spring packaged, but we only the game.

To make the game setup easier I'd like to package some mods and maps

Spring is an engine, not a game. You are looking to package games with spring install.

I'll leave the blatant advertising and *A bash to others.

[Wombat]

poor u, prepare urself to get trolled by nubs with no life :<

[imbaczek]

package kernel panic, it's the easiest way to have a game working on the spring engine. i suggest asking ubuntu maintainers for details about other maps or mods.

[Auswaschbar]

All mods ending with A (BA, CA, NOTA, ...) are illegal warez, and should not be in any repository. Stuff like Spring1944 and KernelPanic are mostly CC, and can be packaged without any hesitation.

Map makers mostly don't give their maps any license, and so I think its OK to distribute them in whatever form (author is saved in the map, so they are still given the credits).

[Wombat]

nub question - does changing mods and units names would make any difference ? (so they are different from ota)

[Auswaschbar]

nub question - does changing mods and units names would make any difference ? (so they are different from ota)

If I download windows from pirate bay, and rename it to linux, does it become legal?

The way to make them free is to replace copyrighted models / scripts with self-made ones, filenames do not matter here.

[Wombat]

well if i change flash name to 'flashzor' and change its shape a bit, its not same unit as in ota (sorry, thats whyi called it nub question)

[Pxtl]

All mods ending with A (BA, CA, NOTA, ...) are illegal warez, and should not be in any repository. Stuff like Spring1944 and KernelPanic are mostly CC, and can be packaged without any hesitation.

Map makers mostly don't give their maps any license, and so I think its OK to distribute them in whatever form (author is saved in the map, so they are still given the credits).

Legally, no. But I think that mappers are implicitly agreeing to redistribution unmodified by uploading to Jobjol. However, they may not be agreeing to redistribution for-profit or derivative works, so there are some GPL-only repositories they may not be compatible with.

[BaNa]

there have been threads about similar subjects, and a lot of map makers have given their views. I think i gave some kind of a cc license, but if you people need GPL or something to include my maps (if you want them of course, they hardly get played anyway), then go ahead and use them under whatever license.


I'm sorry I really cant be bothered with these license things anyway it seems like such a silly thing to waste time with.


I think the new spring versions made some of the maps unplayable tho, so pm me if it interests you and ill fix the broken syntax.

[zwzsg]

However, spring itself is under GPL, but what about mod like NoTA and other ? What about maps we can find on this website ?

About any mod whose acronyms ends in *A or *TA is illegal, because ripping stolen Atari properties. Yes, that does include BA, CA, NOTA, XTA, SA, MA, TiA, etc...



Kernel Panic is CC, and so are its maps. To be extra-precise:

========--------------------------------------------
License:
--------
- The content of the /mods/Kernel*.sd7 is Public Domain, save:
/LuaUI/Widgets/kp_buildbar.lua
/LuaRules/Gadgets/autohold.lua
/LuaRules/Gadgets/Burrow.lua
which are GPL, taken from http://www.caspring.org
- The maps Marble Madness and Direct Memory Access are Public Domain
[I forgot to add my other maps here, but Data Cache, Spooler Buffer, and Palladium are also CC]
- The maps Major Madness and Speed Balls 16 Way status are unknown
- The Spring engine is GPL, available from http://spring.clan-sy.com

Every other KDR_11k mod are also CC. However they have even a smaller scope than KP. Here's some of the lastest KDR_11k mods anyways: The Cuberor's finest, Micro Modules, THIS, Fibre. You should check them out, they're very good as long as you keep in mind they're not the TA clones you're looking for.

Evolution RTS is CC, that is stated quite clearly on the bottom of their site, an Forboding Angel said it many times. It is AFAIK the only mod that is: Free of stolen content, using a free license, and TA-like in its gameplay.

I don't think Spring:1944 is CC, I thought it was more like a freeware you could play but not modify, but then I can't find any clear mention on Spring:1944 website.

P.U.R.E. is now commercial, with a free demo (free as non paying, but still fully copyrighted).

Argh's previous mod, Nanoblob, is GPL.

Gundam is a fan project. According to Smoth, Bandai is fine with such fan works, but then I don't know if it's enough to be allowed in a mandriva distrib. Also, Smoth will rabidly attack whoever think his GundamRTS is free to dismantle and reuse for other projects.

The Cursed, as well as Expand & Exterminate are also like freeware, using content entirely produced by authors who are not keen on letting anybody butcher their fine work.

So in short, EvoRTS and Kernel Panic seem like best choices.

[FLOZi]

All S44 artwork is CC (BY-NC) , all code is GPL.

(Though the license docs in the archive and the info in the files themselves doesn't always reflect this at current. I'd go through and fix it, but we use gadgets and widgets from a somewhat diverse array of sources and technically we should get their permission for changing the license.)

[zwzsg]

FLOZi: Oh ok then, it wasn't too clear when I checked your website.

Pxtl: the engine devs stance.

Here we go again...