TA redux Model question/clear up

[AF]

Can i use the likes of Mr.Ds remodels and cremuss' work without incurring the wrath of atari in new work?

[Pxtl]

Can i use the likes of Mr.Ds remodels and cremuss' work without incurring the wrath of atari in new work?

IANAL, but probably not. Many of the models are visibly re-makes of Cavedog IP, even though they include no actual content ripped from Cavedog. I mean, Atari wouldn't do a thing about them... fan-art videogames are pretty much accepted as cool in the gaming industry. But I think they'd have the legal right to bust you for it, if they wanted.

[Sheekel]

Probably not, I suppose if you made a project and 'went commercial' as PURE did they might C&D the project. I wouldnt suggest doing anything to make a profit obviously

[Master-Athmos]

Well for Mr. D's models you definitely will have problems if you don't change their texture as they often contain the Core logo...

[AF]

But once the core logos are gone they're okay right?

[Argh]

I regarded Cremus's work to be sufficiently safe to use, but not Mr. D's. IANAL either, but I felt like Cremus's work was not remotely dangerous to use in World Builder and redistribute.

[AF]

A handful of MrDs remodels are safe ebcause theyre remodels of units that never existed in the original Atari IP to begin with.

An example beign cremuss' adv solar gen model, there was no adv solar gen in OTA, it wasa 3rd party unit added on:

[smoth]

feel free to use my morty redesign, it is pretty generic.

[Argh]

A handful of MrDs remodels are safe ebcause theyre remodels of units that never existed in the original Atari IP to begin with.

Yeah, that's true, like the Wolverine, but I figured that if I included one, but not all, people would grumble about it, so I'm not bothering.

Anyhow, just curious... why are you asking about this? If you want free models, download stuff from ModelBase, or pilfer them from CA or the many other Open Source / PD projects that me and KDR and other folks have released. There is no reason you cannot use S'44 meshes, for example, so long as the project isn't commercial.

[Saktoth]

If Starcraft can rip off Aliens and Warhammer to the degree it did, we can get away with models of vaguely derivative design.

Cremuss's? Absolutely. They are only vaguely similiar to the OTA variants.

Mr.D's? This varies. Some are new designs, some are remakes, some are interpretations.

The Tremor and Radar Vehicle are entirely new designs, not based on any unit.

The Wolverine, Banisher and Garpike are based losely on 3rd party units.

The Leveler, Gator, Slasher, Con Vehicle, Reaper, Diplomat and Lugar are all heavy re-interpreted from their low-poly 3do versions.

The vehicle factory is a pretty faithful remake of the 3do.

The Goliath, Commander, Nuke, Weasel, Croc and Raider are faithful remakes of OTA glamour renders from cutscenes etc.

Ultimately, for CA, i'd want to replace or heavily edit the units in these last two categories. Logo-scrubbing is a must though. Honestly though, as long as you arent using the actual origional model from OTA, considering how much Atari cares about this, id say you're in the clear.

[smoth]

If Starcraft can rip off Warhammer and Warhammer's Nids can rip off aliens

etc fixed

[AF]

Then I think the likes of the raider and instigator and goliath are generic tanks far enough that logo scrubbing should suffice. They've been modified and improved conceptually over the renders ( although the core commanders far too obvious )

[Saktoth]

I've been trying to hunt down the renders and this is all i can find. Is that all of them? Its mixed in with a bunch of crappy fanart too.

It doesnt include a raider or goliath, so i may be mistaken about those- though they are a bit more derivative of the OTA models than the others.

[AF]

Mr Ds goliath has an llt turret on the top, OTA does not

[Saktoth]

Right, lets put an extra llt on top of the weasel and call it not derivative.

It is otherwise heavily derivative at least of the 3do. Before he started getting all creative.

[rattle]

even if you added mickey mouse ear looking radar dishes it'd still be a derivative