OpalEyedFan on 3/1/2023 at 23:49
Hi, a bit late to the party but it is still a relevant issue to answer your question nr 2 (in case more people should come here wondering the same)
Quote:
2. Do we need to get permission from 3D authors to use their assets, and how much of those are in the public domain?
always give credit to original creator when using others assets, it's mandatory
always check the permissions on the nexusmods modpage if that is where you found your asset. If no permission to use assets from a mod is present at the nexusmods modpage then you could always pm the modcreator and ask for permission to use it, in my experience sometimes they say yes :) and sometimes they never get back to you
the general rule of thumb is that once the permission to use a resource in a mod has been given it can not be taken back
Now if you find a 3dmodel online somewhere other than nexusmods, the whole thing gets more tricky because some of these free models out there are published under a license which grants you the right to use it in your mod, and some models are published under a license which does not. Sadly some models are published under no license at all and those models are pretty much illegal to use for anything at all.
Here is a guide to follow if you are looking for 3d models online to put in your mods that you intend to publish. These rules are not mine :), they were actually published on the Need For Speed forums January 24 2022 to clarify what was legal to put in NFS mods and what was not
Here you go:
-Each site has their terms of use, which under their conditions allows the use of on-site materials externally
Creative Commons are usually listed on sketchfab and blendswap. You have to find the right license on the model site
Royalty free license basically means you cannot request any payment for others to access your model. CGTrader, 3dlancer and 3dcadbrowser allow this use of models.
No derivatives allowed means that you cannot make any changes to the model and noone else can make any changes to the model, applies only for CGTrader, 3dlancer, free3d and 3dcadbrowser websites with their Royalty free license.
There are exceptions to non-derivatives. Those are Creative Commons licenses BY-ND and BY-NC-ND. These are not allowed within mods
Editorial license is not usable. This license lets you use the materials only for educational purposes or newsworthy occasions.
Acceptable sources for mods:
CC BY-NC-SA
Sites where SOME models are OK for mods:
[many models on these sites are ripped from other games and cannot be used in mods
Sketchfab - Creative Commons licenses, except BY-ND and BY-NC-ND
CGTrader - Royalty free license, no derivatives allowed
3dlancer.net - with Royalty free license, no derivatives allowed
blendswap.com - Creative Commons licenses, except BY-ND and BY-NC-ND
free3d.com - Royalty free license, no derivatives allowed
3dcadbrowser.com - Royalty free license, no derivatives allowed
There are sites so far identified as not good sources for models in mods because they do not provide a proper license.
Incomplete list of sites which are NOT acceptable sources for mods:
open3dmodel.com
downloadfree3d.com
cadnav.com
lfsturkey.net
gamemodels.ru
rigmodels.com
lucas-mods.com
perendinator.blogspot.com
grabcad.com
cults3d.com
3dwarehouse.sketchup.com
b2b.partcommunity.com
modslfs.com
mark-jdmods.blogspot.com
Also, generally, websites with content, which look like blogspot sites or a file depositories are usually not accepted as well, unless the website provides proper terms of use.
:)and there you have it
on a side note, if you are willing to pay some starving 3D artist money on the "fiverr site" for making you that special asset that you can't find anywhere online, then you can of course use it as you please in your mods
