Author Topic: Legal Copy Questions  (Read 4450 times)

Legal Copy Questions
« on: 2014-05-06 04:31:47 »
Hey guys, I have some questions regarding the legality of copies of FFVII PC.

I have a friend who's got the Playstation version of Final Fantasy VII, but he's missing disk 3. He'd like to play the game some day, but doesn't want to start it and not be able to finish because he doesn't have the last disk. (I'd lone him my copy - but he's one of those friends I don't know if I'll actually see very often after high school and graduation is coming up soon.) He also has a PS3 so no swap trick for him, whether it would be legal or not to play with a burned copy of disk three. (I'm not sure if it would be legal or not for me to make a copy of my disk, he does own the game after all and is only missing the one disk, but it doesn't matter because he has no method to use it, besides an emulator which he said he'd rather not bother with.)

So, my main question really is, would it be OK for me to copy my PC copy of the game to give to him, since he owns the PS version, or is that a no-no? I told him (assuming it's legal) I'd try to burn the game for him with my favorite mods (he'd like to play with graphics/music mods but isn't comfortable modding it himself) and the any cd patch on a DVD with a custom installer - basically copying my entire Square Soft directory to his Program Files folder, setting up his registry appropriately, and using the DVD as "FF7Disk1" (or whatever the proper label is) so he doesn't have to switch disks around. I have a feeling this is a "no", but I'm not sure.

Finally, if the above is not OK, would be OK for me to do that for him if he bought the Steam version and just didn't install it (as I'd have to go and convert his game to the 1998 version anyways to apply mods)?

I appreciate your feedback, and I promise I won't do any of this if there's no legal way. (Worst case scenario I'll tell him to buy the Steam version and I'll go over to his house and set up the mods for him - though applying LGP mods is a pain in the ass sometimes. First time I tried modding LGP's directly, I tried 3 different compressor/decompressors, and ended up with a about 4-5 broken installations before I finally got things working OK. Thankfully I keep backups so I didn't have to reinstall the entire game again multiple times.)

Covarr

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Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #1 on: 2014-05-06 07:12:58 »
Any copy you make of your own discs not for your own personal use is illegal. Plain and simple. If it was for yourself, it'd be legal gray area (but we don't consider personal copies piracy on this forum). It's a shame, because personally I think there's nothing morally or ethically wrong with what you're describing, and in practice there's still the same number of usable copies in the wild as have been sold, but US copyright law is stupid so it's not legal. If you do this (which I don't recommend), we will not be able to provide any support for his copy of the game.

You don't need to apply LGP mods directly even with the Steam version. What I suggest is doing, if you want to stay fully within the law and get support here, is buying the Steam version, and then running this converter, which makes your game effectively identical to the 1998 PC release, and should be compatible with any mods meant for the 1998 version.

Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #2 on: 2014-05-06 12:58:32 »
Ok, I'll tell him to get the steam version.

Out of curiosity, assuming it would even work, would it be legal to make an install disk for the converted steam release? And, installed traditionally or through a disk, how does that manage disk swaps? Are they still unneeded because the steam version doesn't use disks, or what? (I assume it's basically an LGP or exe hex mod by se themselves).

cmh175

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Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #3 on: 2014-05-06 13:21:05 »
This is a lot of work around for a game you can buy for $10. You're free to do as you like however, it just becomes an issue when you broadcast online that you're doing it. My suggestion, just buy the $10 game. Otherwise if you need to troubleshoot any problems you wont be able to tell if it's a standard issue or because the games a burned iso.
« Last Edit: 2014-05-06 13:23:19 by cmh175 »

Covarr

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Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #4 on: 2014-05-06 15:12:27 »
The converter also brings back the disc requirement. It turns a re-release copy into a 1998 copy in almost all ways (keeps the nice upscaled videos, though), including DRM and any limitations that the 1998 version had. You can get around it by having a disc inserted with the label "ff7disc1", along with the AnyCD mod (replaced the disc requirement to just have ANY ff7 disc, not just the correct one, so you can use disc1 for the entire game as long as the videos are on your HDD). I think the converter I linked includes this mod, actually.

If you wanted to build an install disc from that, you definitely could, especially if you know your way around NSIS or another installer creation suite, but I'm not sure I see the point if the person owns the game on Steam anyway. The effort involved would be greater than the effort to re-download the Steam version and run the converter.

EQ2Alyza

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Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #5 on: 2014-05-06 15:26:36 »
You are correct Covarr, the GC comes with the AnyCD mod.

Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #6 on: 2014-05-06 21:30:23 »
but I'm not sure I see the point if the person owns the game on Steam anyway. The effort involved would be greater than the effort to re-download the Steam version and run the converter.

I figured once I set the game up for him I'd make an install disk for him anyways, with all his mods pre-installed in case he gets a new computer or has to reinstall on the one he already has for some reason. (Seeing as it's legal for him to have a copy of his copy of the game.)

I hate US copyright law. I like the idea of copyrights, but how our copyright laws work are just plain stupid.

Covarr

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Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #7 on: 2014-05-07 18:38:12 »
As an aside, if he hasn't gotten the Steam version yet yet, he should buy it from the Humble Store, since it's on sale for half its normal price right now. This version will activate on Steam.

Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #8 on: 2014-05-07 23:18:25 »
Thanks, Covarr! I just called and told him. I told him to get ff8 as well, as it's half price too. (Is there a converter for FF8 yet? Or are there even mods that don't work with the steam version? I know RaW works with it, and I've read you can import the old FMV's to get rid of the new crappy ones, but I don't know about any other mods yet... I haven't even modded my copy yet besides aali's driver.)

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Covarr

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Re: Legal Copy Questions
« Reply #10 on: 2014-05-07 23:30:05 »
There's very little in the way of mods for either one. The game is not well-researched, on account of people don't care as much.