slavatrumpevitch on 14/7/2017 at 13:14
Have another legal question:
Could screenshots of thief missions be used in other commercial ventures? Presumably not screenshots of OM's, but suppose someone constructs a map in DromEd, and takes screenshots which they then sell as artwork, or use as a backdrop in an iOS puzzle game? Would that violate TOS or other limitations?
Would it depend on what assets were used in the screenshot?
john9818a on 14/7/2017 at 15:53
My understanding is that we can't sell anything that was generated by dromed.
LarryG on 14/7/2017 at 18:17
You should read the terms of use that came with LGS's release of DromEd to the community. It's in your installation disk set somewhere.
slavatrumpevitch on 14/7/2017 at 19:15
I looked through it, but it's not clear that it answers the question. Can a screenshot be considered something "created by DromEd?" Apparently videos of gameplay are not. For example, if a youtuber is permitted to make money from a "Let's Play" channel (perhaps FenPhoenix even makes some revenue that way), what would make the commercial use of screenshots any more problematic? If anything, a Let's Play video (which includes 100,000s of still images) would seem more likely to ruffle feathers.
john9818a on 14/7/2017 at 19:53
FenPhoenix and any other YouTuber are making money on their walkthrough of the mission of various games. I think they more accurately are getting paid for showing advertising unless they are directly sponsoring a specific product or sponsored by a vendor. FenPhoenix isn't selling content nor does he make anything with Dromed for selling anything.
Just out of curiosity considering there have been thousands of screenshots posted here, why would anyone pay for screenshots?
slavatrumpevitch on 14/7/2017 at 20:10
I could see people buying framed pictures of their favorite thief moments, but that's not really what I have in mind. I was thinking about a "Mystery of Time and Space" style point-and-click puzzle/adventure game, using thief screenshots as the backdrop. so it's not the screen shots, per se, that users would pay for. They'd just be part of the aesthetic of the game. Perhaps not legal though.
I recognize that Fen et al aren't literally selling videos of thief gameplay, (much like the game I propose wouldn't literally be selling screenshots to players), yet they are able to using the products of DromEd for commericial gain. If the screenshot idea violates TOS but YouTube revenues don't, I'd be very curious to understand the distinction.
voodoo47 on 14/7/2017 at 20:53
I know someone who had used parts of screenshots from a commercial game (like a waist of a peasant showing a pouch) in his free online card game, and he was contacted by their legal department not too long after and asked to kindly remove the offending art or else.
so to answer the original question - even if the screenshot would represent only 3rdparty assets, if found/reported, the current ip owner could decide to take legal action. not because they are right, but because they can - they have the money, and you don't.
to make it short - if you want to be 100% safe, don't do it.
Nameless Voice on 14/7/2017 at 23:04
I don't understand why you'd want to.
Why use screenshots from such an old and primitive engine?
You'd be talking about scenes with fully custom assets anyway, so render them in a proper 3D program instead.
The quality will be much better, you won't have to spend ages converting the models and textures to Dark-usable formats, and you'll have no legal issues.
ZylonBane on 15/7/2017 at 05:27
Sounds like someone's planning Limbo of the Lost II: Electric Boogaloo.
john9818a on 15/7/2017 at 15:56
Because in Fen's case he isn't using dromed as a tool for financial gain. He's simply writing reviews for educational purposes.
