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Maveritchell wrote:

Hidden/Spoiler:

[quote="Teancum"]There was a long while ago, but it fizzled out due to lack of production assets. Given the permissions MGS (Microsoft Game Studios) has given those walls have now become easier to overcome. It still requires conversion, rigging of models, etc (anything you'd do with even a major Star Wars mod) but the potential is there.

I think it's worth pointing out in regards to converting assets: I could be wrong, but my reading of their rules seems to indicate that unless the asset is in a non-proprietary format (like .upk), you're probably not allowed to convert it (the prohibition on reverse-engineering). Music may also be a no-go. I'm not a fan of using converted assets in any case, so I'm certainly a biased reader, but I'd take a look at that prohibition carefully.[/quote]

I understand your stance, but there is no such stipulation:

Microsoft's policy wrote:Here are the magic words from our lawyers: on the condition that you follow the rules below ("Rules"), Microsoft grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use and display Game Content and to create derivative works based upon Game Content, strictly for your noncommercial and personal use. This license is limited by the conditions and restrictions below, so please read them. We can revoke this limited-use license at any time and for any reason without liability to you.

That being said I don't see any of us having the time to do something of this scale in reality anyway. Our numbers are far too small nowadays.

Teancum wrote:That being said I don't see any of us having the time to do something of this scale in reality anyway. Our numbers are far too small nowadays.

*dangerously explodes into existence* Peek-a-boo!

Teancum wrote:I understand your stance, but there is no such stipulation:

Microsoft's policy wrote:You can't reverse engineer our games to access the assets or otherwise do things that the games don't normally permit in order to create your Items.

I.E. If I am using something beyond the scope of what was originally delivered (in terms of file formats, etc.), I'm outside of permissible bounds. Remember that a large portion of this ruleset is about use of images (e.g. screenshots), video replay, and other captured-in-the-bounds-of-the-game content.

Microsoft's policy wrote:Here are the magic words from our lawyers: on the condition that you follow the rules below ("Rules"), Microsoft grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use and display Game Content and to create derivative works based upon Game Content, strictly for your noncommercial and personal use. This license is limited by the conditions and restrictions below, so please read them. We can revoke this limited-use license at any time and for any reason without liability to you.

Keep in mind that the first section of the policy quoted above is one of the conditions and restrictions mentioned in the quote directly above. "Game Content" refers primarily to:

Microsoft's policy wrote:things like gameplay footage, screenshots, music, and other elements of our games ("Game Content") to make things like machinima, videos, and other cool things (your "Item" or "Items")

Their chief examples, as I mention above, are machinima and videos (which of course is not exclusionary of mods and the like), and their chief examples of "Game Content" are recorded footage, screenshots, etc. That's not to say that it doesn't apply to development assets, but it's worth keeping in mind that this is at least heavily focused on use in the context that they have already defined with specific examples.

In other news, though...

Maveritchell wrote:Music may also be a no-go.

Microsoft's policy wrote:things like gameplay footage, screenshots, music, and other elements of our games ("Game Content") to make things like machinima, videos, and other cool things (your "Item" or "Items")

Does this mean if we were to purchase, saaayyyy, the Halo 4 soundtrack, we'd be able to use it for background music for mods, Machinimas, Let's Play videos, and the like?

Twilight_Warrior wrote:Does this mean if we were to purchase, saaayyyy, the Halo 4 soundtrack, we'd be able to use it for background music for mods, Machinimas, Let's Play videos, and the like?

It's all there in the manual:

If you want to use the soundtracks or audio effects from the original game, we often license those from third parties and don't always have the rights to pass them on to you. If we do, we'll let you know. For example, we might mention on the community website for a particular game whether you have these rights, so you'd do well to check. If we don't let you know, you need permission from a third party, especially for games with licensed music. But we'll confirm right here that the music from Halo 3 is available for your use in non-profit ventures thanks to an arrangement with O'Donnell/Salvatori, Inc., composers of this iconic theme.

Wow, I just got totally owned as far as the text. However I will note that such assets are used elsewhere and covered by major media outlets, who in turn cite that policy.

Regardless an actual mod will never happen, as I said before. We just don't have the manpower anymore. It's just a lovely pipe dream.

Idk if I agree with that statement, if all of us rallied together and were each given a task I'm sure we could make something.....

Teancum wrote:Regardless an actual mod will never happen, as I said before. We just don't have the manpower anymore. It's just a lovely pipe dream.

Well... I wouldn't say that. Once Mass Effect: Unification, The Clone Wars, Battlefront 3, Shattered Mirror, Evolved, that one Alien mod, The Final Push and all the other mods we have planned are done, and we still want to work on this game? We'll work on a Halo mod. Red vs Blue is one I've had planned for ages.

So never say never. It's only highly improbable.

No offense, but until you guys actually finish one of those, I have absolutely no faith whatsoever.
There have been so many projects that flair up and get 50, 75% done, and then just die out because they take too long and everyone loses interest.

...except it's not very easy to finish TCW or BF3 or Evolved or any other WULF's projects when WULF doesn't have access to the hard drive that contains any of those projects, until recently, so now progress on them may continue. However, Unification will be released on the 5th of January.

Oh, and just so you know, we already have Blood Gulch nearly completed.

I have waited much too long for this day.

Necroposting to add this into the discussion:

Microsoft Attorney Don McGowan wrote:"The developers aren't selling the mod, they're not monetizing Microsoft's IP, they're just creating something to share their love of the Master Chief on a new platform. It's a great thing for us and a great thing for the gaming community."

-Speaking on the Master Chief model for Unreal Tournament 3 on PlayStation 3

Sources: (original blog is now defunct) Microsoft Attorney Don McGowan via Kotaku, Joystiq

Basically as Mav said before all-new content is golden. Converted stuff is still pretty gray. Nobody has spoken out directly from MSFT and crystal clarified the rule, but as Mav pointed out one should be careful about ripping.

So basically, if one were to model their own Halo character and prop models and whatnot and possibly use sounds extracted from the games (namely Combat Evolved/Custom Edition), that would be alright?

As sounds couldn't be reproduced I'd say that's a pretty safe bet.

You'd probably be the safest legally using the Halo CE sounds, as most of them were stock anyways. The Chaingun and the Shotgun are the most notable, being used in lots of other games and cartoons at the time.

I thought Delta-1035 was already making a halo mod

He is, or was.

Nedarb7 wrote:I thought Delta-1035 was already making a halo mod

So? There are like, four conversion pack mods lol, so why can't there be twelve+ Halo mods?

So are we actually planning on doing this, or is this just contimplation? Because I think we could beat out deltawhatevers halo mod. I'd be happy to help if u do decide to do this.

THEWULFMAN wrote:He is, or was.

Good point,

Marth8880 wrote:So? There are like, four conversion pack mods lol, so why can't there be twelve+ Halo mods?

That's not what I meant, what I was trying to say was: "Why say that it could technically be a "go" as if it had never been "gone" before.

But then again THEWULFMAN has a very good point.