I know that ripping and distributing is illegal, but elaborate.

[jeffdamann]

Are the actual MODELS protected or just the textures?

And if the models are, if I loaded a ripped model and changed it by 15% or so wouldnt therfore become MY intellectual property?
Just a thought....

[sl1982]

So if i steal your car and put new rims on it its now my car?

[nikfrozty]

So if i steal your car and put new rims on it its now my car?

If you put it that way. How about when I get your girl, change her clothes and she's mine. Hehe just joking.

[jeffdamann]

My point is how exactly can anyone prove that I ripped that model and didnt just model it myself to be close to the original?
I mean if I literally did that, say I loaded up a model, opened the program again, and created a model to those exact specifications, I created it, didnt I?

If I supply the materials and labor into building a house based off my neighbors blueprints, built it EXACTLY like theirs, does that make the house I just built theirs and not mine, I don't think so.Then again, my logic on that scenario may be flawed, you tell me.

[sl1982]

In my opinion it is flawed. If you took a piece of paper and put it over a work of art and traced it identically does that make it your work? If you took a book that someone wrote and use a thesaurus to change some of the words does that make it yours? Think of it this way, copying is copying regardless of if it is done manually or with a piece of software.

[nikfrozty]

My point is how exactly can anyone prove that I ripped that model and didnt just model it myself to be close to the original?
I mean if I literally did that, say I loaded up a model, opened the program again, and created a model to those exact specifications, I created it, didnt I?

If I supply the materials and labor into building a house based off my neighbors blueprints, built it EXACTLY like theirs, does that make the house I just built theirs and not mine, I don't think so.Then again, my logic on that scenario may be flawed, you tell me.

Well I'm not an expert but with some dude's who knows 3d modeling very much they'll know for sure. Even the slightest similarity be sure they can detect it.

[Millenia]

My point is how exactly can anyone prove that I ripped that model and didnt just model it myself to be close to the original?
I mean if I literally did that, say I loaded up a model, opened the program again, and created a model to those exact specifications, I created it, didnt I?

If I supply the materials and labor into building a house based off my neighbors blueprints, built it EXACTLY like theirs, does that make the house I just built theirs and not mine, I don't think so.Then again, my logic on that scenario may be flawed, you tell me.

Well I'm not an expert but with some dude's who knows 3d modeling very much they'll know for sure. Even the slightest similarity be sure they can detect it.

Absolutely correct - as some here know I've been active in the CS/CSS modding community for a long while and have seen lots of custom content for it and in most cases I can immediately tell whose model it is if they've been stolen for, say, a mod.

[jeffdamann]

Yeah I do suppose there would be little hints to entail where it really came from, hell you could probably put a mark on a character or something in a normally unviewable place in gameplay, that you could view in editor, like on the bottom of a shoe or something...I may do that when I model.

[nikfrozty]

So if you want to rip models you can't release it and only have them for yourself. But if you want to contribute to the people around working here on their projects you can create custom models. I'm learning to make one but making a custom model itself is just hard for me, but I'll try. There's a very good tutorial around here.

[Jaitsu]

this is the third post i've seen sinse the turn of the year basically asking if someone basically can "avoid" or "go under" the rules. the words "how would they know i stole the models" or something along thoughs lines should in my opinion be getting more trouble, course, the newer guys just gotta learn, so maybe im being to condescending

[nfitc1]

My point is how exactly can anyone prove that I ripped that model and didnt just model it myself to be close to the original?
I mean if I literally did that, say I loaded up a model, opened the program again, and created a model to those exact specifications, I created it, didnt I?

If I supply the materials and labor into building a house based off my neighbors blueprints, built it EXACTLY like theirs, does that make the house I just built theirs and not mine, I don't think so.Then again, my logic on that scenario may be flawed, you tell me.

You're really pushing your limits here, aren't you? The HOUSE is yours, but the design is not. It's the design of the models that's copyrighted. If they're used as a base for a new model or to replace another then you've taken someone else's work and duplicated it. That's exactly what copyrights are: protection against others that would copy your designs.

[nikfrozty]

To make it simple, its like getting the models then revise it, change the shape and change the textures but it is still their models you've just edited it. I know you're bummed when I first came here ripping is allowed and they made a rule with a big NO but we'll have to live with it.

[anifiga]

My point is how exactly can anyone prove that I ripped that model and didnt just model it myself to be close to the original?
I mean if I literally did that, say I loaded up a model, opened the program again, and created a model to those exact specifications, I created it, didnt I?

If I supply the materials and labor into building a house based off my neighbors blueprints, built it EXACTLY like theirs, does that make the house I just built theirs and not mine, I don't think so.Then again, my logic on that scenario may be flawed, you tell me.

You're really pushing your limits here, aren't you? The HOUSE is yours, but the design is not. It's the design of the models that's copyrighted. If they're used as a base for a new model or to replace another then you've taken someone else's work and duplicated it. That's exactly what copyrights are: protection against others that would copy your designs.

but when you yourself create a model even if it custom and from the scratch, it is still based on square's isn't it copying as well?

[Timu Sumisu]

@ anifiga, its comparable to fanart. My cloud model for example, is probably in the same category as somebody's painting of cloud. However, If you compared it to the original, and all the poly flows and vertices ligned up, there may be more questions raised as to whether or not it is in fact mine, just like if somebody claimed a trace of the official art was their own.

[DarkFang]

Isn't this whole forum illegal then? You're extracting models from a game, editing them, uploading them, and putting them in the game. Isn't this illegal?

[Jaitsu]

we're not using the base models themselves, we give out mods that edit them, but not the original models themselves, and we all (or at least, SHOULD all, own the game)

[anifiga]

all fanart as well based on someone else's design, and if i right we at least can use copyrighted material in educational purposes so we can learn on the original square's works how to do our own, but of course i fully support policy on this forum about creating models from scratch cus it makes us to learn more

[Jaitsu]

all fanart as well based on someone else's design, and if i right we at least can use copyrighted material in educational purposes so we can learn on the original square's works how to do our own, but of course i fully support policy on this forum about creating models from scratch cus it makes us to learn more

and its much more creative ^_^ which is why im spending this summer learning

[anifiga]

while am playing with kimera  with ff7 models (hope to show smth intersting soon guys;)) im as well starting to learn how to work with blender little by little

[Jaitsu]

while am playing with kimera  with ff7 models (hope to show smth intersting soon guys;)) im as well starting to learn how to work with blender little by little

im waiting to finish up my classes this year before i get into blender