Modding Policy

[cantdownloadit]

As requested by @David, thread here, can you post the policy for monetisation of mods/source code etc?
How this is treated when people are using using publicly available images and charging ? how will copyright claims be handled? or if businesses object to there names/logo's being used in paid products.
Do mod makers need to post permissions on there mods now ? what happens if someone uploads a new mod using a lot of the data from the old mod, can that be monetised? can they be banned for example
Is there a policy for mod content that can be released/monetised ? for instance if there are "adult" products in it, will it be restricted? will it be allowed but not on the cap lab forums? same goes with politically contentious items for example.

I realise most of it is probably unlikely to ever happen, but people should have some idea of how these things will be handled

[David]

The following are our view on monetization of mods. But you have raised several questions that are not covered here which need to be discussed with the communities in order to develop optional policies. I would encourage all community members to share their opinions on these issues for a constructive discussion.

Our view on this matter is as follows:

We want to express our full support for modders who wish to monetize their creations. We believe that modders have the right to receive rewards for their time, effort, and creativity in developing mods that enhance our game.

Modders' Rights: We recognize that creating high-quality mods requires significant investment in terms of time, skill, and resources. As such, modders have the right to seek compensation for their work if they choose to do so.

Encouraging Innovation: By allowing monetization, we hope to encourage more talented individuals to create and maintain mods, ultimately enriching the Capitalism Lab experience for all players.

Player Choice: We trust our community to decide which mods provide value worth paying for. This system allows players to support the modders whose work they most appreciate.

Continued Free Options: We also support modders who choose to release their work for free. Both free and paid mods contribute to our vibrant modding ecosystem.

Fair Practices: We encourage modders to price their work fairly and to provide clear descriptions of what players can expect from their mods.

We believe this approach will foster a thriving modding community that benefits modders, players, and the overall Capitalism Lab experience. We're excited to see the innovative creations that will emerge from this supportive environment.

[David]

How this is treated when people are using using publicly available images and charging ? how will copyright claims be handled? or if businesses object to there names/logo's being used in paid products.

Let's discuss your questions one by one.

For the above question, I am aware that Tabletop Simulator on Steam has lots of mods that use images of branded products from third parties: https://steamcommunity.com/app/286160/workshop/

The game has been on Steam for a long time and has generated substantial sales.

It seems that it is allowed by Steam, isn't it? What are your opinion on this?

[cantdownloadit]

I think in most cases it will be absolutely fine, after all its free advertising in a way, but there are exceptions, for instance if someone made a Pokemon themed mod, I would not be at all surprised to find Nintendo being unhappy, regardless of whether it was monetised or not.

But for example if I google "what is the law about using company logos in games" the majority of responses indicate they are trademarked, and would really need permission. Again its probably not going to be an issue, but it could be, and if by hosting said mods, Enlight can be seen to be endorsing it, then I don't know where things would stand.

It could also depend how you portray products in the mod, if your mod infers to a companies products as being poor quality for example they may not like it.

[David]

I think in most cases it will be absolutely fine, after all its free advertising in a way, but there are exceptions, for instance if someone made a Pokemon themed mod, I would not be at all surprised to find Nintendo being unhappy, regardless of whether it was monetised or not.

But for example if I google "what is the law about using company logos in games" the majority of responses indicate they are trademarked, and would really need permission. Again its probably not going to be an issue, but it could be, and if by hosting said mods, Enlight can be seen to be endorsing it, then I don't know where things would stand.

It could also depend how you portray products in the mod, if your mod infers to a companies products as being poor quality for example they may not like it.

What you said makes a lot sense.

p.s. RealWorld Mod is hosted at the author's own server. When you download it from the auto mod downloader, it connects to that server. On the other hand, the other two mods Future World Mod and Magitek Mod are hosted at our server, because all the images in these two mods were generated by AI.

[David]

To your next question:

Do mod makers need to post permissions on there mods now ? what happens if someone uploads a new mod using a lot of the data from the old mod, can that be monetised? can they be banned for example

They must get the permissions from the creator of the original mod, unless the original mod's creator explicitly releases all the rights and make it a public domain or with a similar permissive license.

Anything you would like to add to this policy?

[moneytheory]

I don't think modders should be charging for mods. Most modders do it for love and not money. I understand it takes time and resources to do mods but i don't think they should be charging for it. Instead they could have a donation system like they do on the Nexus mods.

You may remember there was a big stink on Steam when Gabe tried to bring in paid modding for Bethseda Games and Gabe soon took it off Steam because of the uproar in the modding community.

[cantdownloadit]

To your next question:

Do mod makers need to post permissions on there mods now ? what happens if someone uploads a new mod using a lot of the data from the old mod, can that be monetised? can they be banned for example

They must get the permissions from the creator of the original mod, unless the original mod's creator explicitly releases all the rights and make it a public domain or with a similar permissive license.

Anything you would like to add to this policy?

can they give permission though, if the images are made by AI or from public sources, they don't own the rights, so they cannot give the right to someone else to use the content. for instance America i think they have ruled AI art cannot be copyrighted, so anyone could use the AI art you put in your game with no restriction.

[cantdownloadit]

I don't think modders should be charging for mods. Most modders do it for love and not money. I understand it takes time and resources to do mods but i don't think they should be charging for it. Instead they could have a donation system like they do on the Nexus mods.

You may remember there was a big stink on Steam when Gabe tried to bring in paid modding for Bethseda Games and Gabe soon took it off Steam because of the uproar in the modding community.

a lot of that is people feeling entitled to mods because they were "free before". i also note people then exploited donation points by splitting mods into pieces etc.

but it creates a class system in games, those who can afford mods and those who cannot.

its good to see its only the "source files" of real world that is for sale, but to me, he should not be taking donations for the images, because he does not own them. in my opinion the images should be a free download for everyone, and the only files that should be behind a pay wall should be the DBF files themselves.

the other question is, if i am buying the mod files, in my opinion i am then entitled to support in using them from the person selling them ? if i buy something from a personal normally and it doesnt work, i would expect help.

and again another issue, if i buy say version 13.21, when 13.22 is released, so i also get that, do i have to buy it again ? does it only cover version 13 ?

[David]

Is there a policy for mod content that can be released/monetised ? for instance if there are "adult" products in it, will it be restricted? will it be allowed but not on the cap lab forums? same goes with politically contentious items for example.

You have raised some interesting possibilities but I'm not sure how we can possibly censor or ban a mod as they can distribute them on any sites on the Internet. Also, who will judge whether the content is politically contentious and how fair is the judgement.

I guess we will only deal with that when it does occur, as you said, the chance of having such issues is really slim.