Mods and Customization

[djfuq]

thread about sharing a prepackaged bundle of t2

[Kryand]

That's a lot of crappy scripts. Plus it doesn't have the TWL2 map pack

[Red Shifter]

so your plan is to weed out the cheaters by giving them a really crappy set of scripts that probably makes the game unplayable?  genius strategy, but not sure it'll work without voice packs in there

[Thyth]

I can't allow you to distribute a pre-patched version of the game on this forum. We provide the original GameSpy installation package, and a separate user-applied patch for specific reasons. This includes legal reasons (not distributing a derivative work of a copyrighted material), and user support reasons (you may have intentionally or unintentionally introduced changes that could break compatibility or threaten user security).

I have redacted the link to the download for those reasons.

[lonesome killer]

Don't get mad.  It's a legal thing like Tyth said.  I've seen WoW private servers get in huge legal battles b/c users would post links to download WoW for free on the servers forums and the admins did nothing to stop it.

[djfuq]

I dont see the difference between my bundling a nice package for new players (who dont know how to configure all this stuff) to hit the ground running vs having a link to download the gamespy version. All that aside  though... I would like to post the link elsewhere.

I dont want to run bittorrent from my machine for eternity just to share this, so I uploaded it to my web server so people could download anytime they wanted from a fast server.

So... suggestions as to where I should post this?? (please, dont give me a hard time, just be cool - I'm just trying to help grow the community past 60 players....)

[Kryand]

If you remove all of the PJ's scripts and add in the TWL2 map pack, I might be willing to help. But honestly I'd probably rather make my own archive, but I probably won't bother until either RC3 is out or this guy gets his video rolling: http://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621322

[djfuq]

so your plan is to weed out the cheaters by giving them a really crappy set of scripts that probably makes the game unplayable?  genius strategy, but not sure it'll work without voice packs in there

You didnt even test it , so your opinion is useless. It is solid and preconfigured, has no bugs, and is perfect for a new player to unpack and play. I have been passing out this zip to people for the last  7 years and never had one complaint, instead had many friends happy that I gave it to them. It has all the TWL map packs, the X map packs, etc etc. I just have them in a different directory than you expect. Yes my plan of distributing this for free, easy to download and run makes sense to me, as thats all new players need -- sorry you didnt test it.

[djfuq]

If you remove all of the PJ's scripts and add in the TWL2 map pack, I might be willing to help.

You could help by testing it.... as it is. ;-)
my email address is f00lf00k[at]gmail.com
hit me up!

[Kryand]

I don't need to test it, I've tried all of those scripts at some point in Tribes 2. I'm sure it works just fine, that's not the point. The point is people should be getting both TWL map packs. Additionally, people should also not be subjected to PJ's crappy scripts. Maybe they work, but they are bad.

[Thyth]

I dont see the difference between my bundling a nice package for new players (who dont know how to configure all this stuff) to hit the ground running vs having a link to download the gamespy version. All that aside  though... I would like to post the link elsewhere.

You may not see a difference, but the nature of the distribution is specifically engineered to stay in the legal clear.

The game is copyrighted. The rights holders released a copy of the game for free in 2004 -- since this version, and no other, is specifically free to distribute -- that is what we provide unmodified. The patch, assorted binaries, and script code within the TribesNext installer is either used under license (for the Ruby runtime) or is wholly owned by the development team, and contains absolutely zero code or dependence on anything in the Tribes 2 distribution (and in fact can be applied to certain binaries produced by compiling the Torque game engine). Users exercise their fair use rights to reverse engineering and modification by applying the TribesNext patch to an otherwise official Tribes 2 installation. The DMCA fair use exemption for interoperability does not, however, grant redistribution of a derivative work, which is what you have attempted to do here.

If you wish to open yourself to legal liability by distributing such a derivative work, that is your prerogative; I just can't allow you to link to it, either directly or indirectly on this forum. If you are within the United States, you will also need to make reasonable assurance that the software will not be distributed to restricted parties present on the US Department of Commerce list of controlled states/organizations, since the patch contains strong cryptography still subject to US export restrictions.

If you want to produce a patch that is automatically applied to a Tribes2 (+TribesNext) installation that installs scripts, map packs, and does configuration, you can do so. There is no need to redistribute an entire pre-processed copy of the game. If you even wanted to automate the download of the unmodified GSI and latest TribesNext patch, along with installation macros, you could do that. The problem is distribution of a pre-processed derivative work. If you take un-processed original building blocks and combine them automatically on the client machine, you will likely be in the clear.

Usual disclaimer: I am not a lawyer; none of the above should be taken as legal advice.