Sheikah Armor + Clothing mod... okay to upload? Advice?

[SunlitEarth]

I've done a teeny bit of modding for other games in the past, but this is my first project for Oblivion. I wanted to make the Sheikah clothes as seen in Zelda Breath of the Wild/Age of Calamity (btw this is *not* a port/model rip from those games--my mod contains solely Oblivion assets, modified from vanilla Oblivion/other mod creators, so no worries there). The textures are my own, but the meshes are mostly not. Some of it was made by me in blender or reshaped from vanilla Oblivion meshes, but i mainly used meshes from other Oblivion creators, since this was just for my own use.

 

 

 

I used Robert male/HGEC bodies, and shoes from Pizz's Ninja set for the Stealth Armor Set pictured above. I understand that both Robert/HGEC have policies allowing upload as long as credit is given for assets used, and Pizz's page says "If you change Meshes and Texture of this Mod and release it, Please add my name, Pizz" So I'm pretty sure it's fine if I upload this Armor set.

 

 

 

 

I used parts of meshes from Hentai for the above two sets, Sheikah Villager/Advisor, and i know that Hentai also has a generous policy allowing modification/upload of their assets, so this clothing set should also be okay to upload in my mod.

 

 

However, for the Researcher Set it's unclear to me whether it's okay to use hidemaro's male Hakama mesh as long as i give credit, that page says: "I have the license of this Data. Basically prohibited for purposes other than personal use, distribute Data for this I made. If usage commercial purpose or non malicious, I may be free to change and redistribute it however. Please specify to the credit of that case."

Also, I altered AGSType-2's female Mercenary coat mesh. I'm not entirely sure about AGSType-2's policy, but it seems like it's probably NOT okay for me to upload. I *have* seen Speed Buster items uploaded by other people, but they were converting them to other body types, not changing the mesh's look and retexturing it. I did pm the creators to ask permission but I understand that this is a very old game, their stuff was created ages ago and so they might not be active.

TL;DR:

Should i upload what seems to be allowable (the sets in the first 3 pictures) and leave out the last one? That's what I'm thinking, better to err on the side of caution. Does anyone have experience with any of the creators i'm unsure of (hidemaro or AGSType-2) and knows for sure about their policy? Or could someone tell me if the ones that i think ARE ok to upload actually AREN'T? i respect and appreciate all of the original creators and don't want to try uploading something if it's against their wishes (or maybe my upload would have to be approved first by mods/admin and they would know whether or not something was okay? I dunno) Pls halp :sad:

(i'll change the .esp accordingly to remove whatever items people think i should and then re-clean it with TES4Edit so there's no dirty edits, and then... maybe someone could test it out for me in their game pls? If someone doesn't mind taking the time, i'd really appreciate it! i'd really like opinions, and if someone checks them out and sees how they look in game, in motion and in different angles of lighting, they can recommend on whether i should include certain items or not--like the Villager clothes especially. I might just be overly critical, but i kinda wonder whether those in particular are just not up to par to be posted publicly. They were actually the first i worked on, so they're a bit... idk, rougher around the edges? And I've never been good at drawing shading, not in gimp or irl haha. I started this set to make a little village of Sheikah NPCs, so the clothes just had to look decent enough for that, but might not be of an appropriate quality for player character. All feedback is welcome, and you can be brutally honest lol it won't offend me :laugh: )

Oh and re: the pics above, the character art is just for reference purposes for this thread, of course i wouldn't be including it in my actual post for download. I won't be even mentioning the name of *that game* in the post since it seems to me that fan-stuff is looked upon unkindly by that company, even though people aren't profiting monetarily from it and just really really like the fandom, but that's ok, not hating on the company either!)

[Striker879]

The Nexus rules are clear on this ... if you are the creator of the assets (in all respects, so meshes, textures, etc) then you may upload. If some of the assets are created by others (whether individuals or companies) you need documented permission from the asset creator before you can upload.

 

If there is any doubt Nexus staff might be able to offer their opinion (in cases such as the Hakama mesh you give as an example, where language/machine translation makes permission instructions hard to decipher) but Nexus staff will not be able to change or override the asset creator's permission.

 

Nexus will give/withhold permission on assets that have been handed over to the Nexus Caretaker, but in those cases they only follow the permissions in place at the time the assets were transfered to the Nexus Caretaker.

[SunlitEarth]

Thanks for the reply! So then, I would only want to try uploading the ones that use Roberts/HGEC and Pizz and Hentai, since those creators say their assets can be used as long as they're given credit properly.

Or, do you mean that, like with Robert for example, even though his policy says it's fine with credit, that I would still need to contact him and get credit for my mod specifically and then be able to provide proof that he said yes?

 

And when you say "If some of the assets are created by others (whether individuals or companies)", are you talking about the actual assets, like the meshes and textures, or the very idea itself? Like, with the stealth armor, the mesh would be Roberts and I did the texture in gimp, BUT if you mean the actual thing that it LOOKS like, "Sheikah" from Zelda, then I actually couldn't post it since that's Nintendo's idea, right? So like, if someone wanted to post Superman armor, even if they made the mesh and textures from scratch themselves, they couldn't because it's DC's property, is that what you mean? And if that person wanted to get around it, maybe they could by just removing the "S" on the chest and substituting something else, and then it would just be "guy in tights and underwear with cape" so that it's not so blatantly obvious but people would still know what it was...

 

Sorry I'm so confused, I'm kinda dumb :confused:

Edited February 16, 2021 by Pipistrello

[Pellape]

First of all, I am not a manga/anime fan at all but your stuff looks amazing and are extremely well made.

 

My opinion is that I do not understand why a modder would not share their creations, letting others use it as resource. But we are all very different. In my world, we share our stuff and help each others, to make stuff better and funnier. That is my philosophy and have always been that way. GNU licensing as one example is so damn brilliant and I love it. It pushes and inspire the free software developers forward.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Pellape

[Striker879]

I'll start with the cut and dried stuff ... if a mod's permission state that the assets (meaning meshes, textures. and other things that were made using tools designed for the purpose of creating/editing assets that the game uses) can be either freely used (within the stated limitations set by their creator) or used with credit (again within the set limits) then all you need to do is give proper credit (where it's asked for ... optionally giving credit for free to use assets even if not asked for or required is just good practice) and only use the assets within the limitations specified. Note that the permissions given in a mod description/readme override the permissions given in the Permissions and Credits section of a mod page ... in cases where the Permissions and Credits information is more restrictive than those given in the mod description/readme the more restrictive would apply until you can get clarification from the asset owner (OK ... that's getting a bit over the line between cut and dried and shall we say "interpreted", with me leaning towards the conservative side of the line).

 

Now for the part that is just me interpreting/giving opinion ... permission that is given that says that contact is required is straight forward enough but sometimes that is less clearly stated than other times. Permission that says all that is required is credit is similarly "cut and dried" except it is not always clearly stated. My own policy is contact the author and wait for permission or acknowledgement that the PM was received and permission is given, but I'm prone to lean towards the conservative side of the line. You won't need to look hard to find others who lean in other directions.

 

When you venture into the area of "intellectual property" (now talking about the look of something) in my opinion you are getting closer to subjects that really could benefit from proper legal advice. For instance if you either created or edited a cape so that it had proportions similar to Superman's cape, and then created a texture that when applied to the cape was indistinguishable (or nearly so) to the original copyrighted cape I wouldn't be surprised if the copyright holder came after you. If your cape or texture was similar but not close enough to make distinguishing the original copyrighted cape from your version obvious your lawyer would have something to defend you with in court ... but that brings me to me being me.

 

Is coming that close to a legal line in the sand that important to you? How is your life enhanced by "getting that thing out there for all to enjoy"? Keep in mind that stuff you have created, either following legal statutes or completely ignoring them is perfectly OK as long as it forever remains only on a machine that you own and take responsibility for (meaning that the asset would be completely and irreversibly deleted from your machine should you give it away/sell it).

 

When considering releasing something that gets close to the line dividing permitted/legal and not permitted/illegal I would also want to consider who it is I'd need to keep looking over my shoulder for. Do they have a reputation of going after violators ... do they retain legal departments ... will they have the financial resources to keep you in court for years or decades (if you decided to fight them ... whether right or wrong)?

 

I don't have any trouble picking my battles.

[SunlitEarth]

I'm sorry, truly I am, I didn't mean to come across as... idk, combative or questioning the rules in my response to you above Striker, that really was not my intention, you were kind enough to try explaining it to me, i think that i just didn't fully understand, is all. I'm trying! I guess i just needed things spelled out for me like I'm 5 haha. I'm just an average girl, i can follow guides for how to mod, but i'm not in the loop with regards to anything else in the modding community. I'm not bothered by it if I'm unable to upload my mod, I enjoyed working on it and learning more about how to mod, so if it must stay only on my computer I'm fine with that. I'm sorry if i DID come across as rude or anything like that, i didn't mean to sound like i was picking a battle, and you're totally right of course, coming close to a legal line in the sand is not at all important to me and doesn't enhance my life at all. I don't want trouble, legal or otherwise, from a silly mod. Sorry again! I'm not good at expressing myself properly, since text doesn't convey tone or anything so i probably did sound like i was arguing =(

[Pellape]

Well it is what it is. My PM box is 50% filled, chasing mod owners, to get permission and many do answer, more than I expected. No one said no so far, well Maskar did asked me to get the resources I use the right and proper way, from the original sources, not any other ways... ;) So I have done it so far...

 

I do have my opinion clear about this anyway and always had... ;) No one can take that away, our opinions.

[SunlitEarth]

Yes Pellape that's true, if I do receive a response and get mod owners permission, then it's different. I just didn't know if their policy saying yes was all that was needed or no. And I guess i just went into this assuming that, because I've seen other uploads based on games/books/whatnot that it was fine, i didn't educate myself on the issue beforehand.

Thank you both for informing me, I won't try to upload such content since it's too close to looking like the original stuff. I just like it myself! Sometimes i nerd out and get all excited lol. Didn't mean to cause trouble or anything. Maybe instead if i can get better at modeling/texturing, i CAN make something entirely from scratch that is all my own and not just a fan-work, and then be happy to upload that =)

[Pellape]

Well it is what it is. My PM box is 50% filled, chasing mod owners, to get permission and many do answer, more than I expected. No one said no so far, well Maskar did asked me to get the resources I use the right and proper way, from the original sources, not any other ways... ;) So I have done it so far...

 

I do have my opinion clear about this anyway and always had... ;) No one can take that away, our opinions.

[Striker879]

I'm sorry, truly I am, I didn't mean to come across as... idk, combative or questioning the rules in my response to you above Striker, that really was not my intention, you were kind enough to try explaining it to me, i think that i just didn't fully understand, is all. I'm trying! I guess i just needed things spelled out for me like I'm 5 haha. I'm just an average girl, i can follow guides for how to mod, but i'm not in the loop with regards to anything else in the modding community. I'm not bothered by it if I'm unable to upload my mod, I enjoyed working on it and learning more about how to mod, so if it must stay only on my computer I'm fine with that. I'm sorry if i DID come across as rude or anything like that, i didn't mean to sound like i was picking a battle, and you're totally right of course, coming close to a legal line in the sand is not at all important to me and doesn't enhance my life at all. I don't want trouble, legal or otherwise, from a silly mod. Sorry again! I'm not good at expressing myself properly, since text doesn't convey tone or anything so i probably did sound like i was arguing =(

 

Pipis, I believe I too may have not been as clear as I could have. I didn't think you were being combatative in the slightest ... actually that never even crossed my mind (and has sent my mind's eye to looking over my own "tone", and how it could have been interpreted in a way I didn't intend). When I said that I pick my battles I was truly refering to me, myself and I, and I can see how that statement following what I posted before it didn't make that clear.

 

I've seen (and sometimes replied) to this type of query before, and in my opinion the people who ask this question regarding permissions and whether or not they can upload fall into two general categories.

 

First there are those who ask, but really all they want is confirmation that it's OK to go ahead and do what they want (which is usually release without regard to permissions or copyright). Those types are easy to spot, as they will be combative when given an answer that doesn't support the one they wanted.

 

From what I have seen you do not belong in that group.

 

The other category are people who either aren't sure how to interpret the rules and genuinely want clarification or haven't even considered such things until someone has pointed the subject out to them and they are making certain that what was pointed out is in fact true. You can tell which subset those people belong to by their responses as well ... in my opinion you are firmly in the former (but that is just an opinion, and worth nothing more than whatever value anyone wants to assign to it).

 

I learned long ago that "right" and "wrong" are just illusions ... there are different paths, they more often than not lead in different directions when taken, and where they each lead are not defined by words like "better" or "worse" ... in fact different is about the most accurate word I've found in common usage that fits.

 

Again, in my opinion, worth as little or much as you'd like.