Kurgan Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 Okay guys, don't flame me, I know I'm new to this forum (been part of LucasForums longer than most, but new to SWBF I mean), but what is the story on editing? I know we all kind of assumed that we could legally mod this game, but Star Wars games through LucasArts are a somewhat thorny issue. [Edited incorrect assumption about the engine this game uses, sorry for the factual error!] I was reading over the "liscense agreement" for this game and it sounds to me like they're saying "NO" we can't release third party mods. Or did LucasArts say one way or the other? Are they going to just look the other way and let us, without supporting it, like with the Jedi Knight series? Or is it forbidden? Because I think many of us can agree this game could use a little work, and unless they are planning some more patches and an Expansion or two, it's not going to last too long on the PC. No offense, I'm not saying it's a bad game, just needs a little work (I agree with IGN's assessment of the game in general). It would be nice to get an official word on this so we don't waste our time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richcz3 Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 I am a bit puzzled .. you're an Administrator asking that question? First and foremost "Historicaly" lucasarts was rather heavy handed regarding an early SW game (Jedi Kight: Dark Forces for the PC). I believe things have changed allot since then. In fact in interviews with developers at Pandemic, questions posed about modability are met with a wait and see approach. What little blurbs (none on this site) have been mentioned by Pandemic look favorable that some tools are being considered for release. Nothing concrete and no time schedule has been given. For legal reasons the License Agreement is to protect themselves from some mod(der) defacing/harming the SW franchise, giving them the right to restrict content changes, by legal action if neccesary. richcz3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-8252 Posted October 7, 2004 Share Posted October 7, 2004 I've read that devs are deciding what to do for modding tools (like what to release). Someone on this forum made a mod changing Stormtroopers to Snowtroopers on Naboo (useless but shows that modding is possible), so it is possible to mod without tools (but extremely difficult). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^Invader Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 hey kurgan i think LEC really relaxed alot on the modding thing, look at the guys at xwaupgrade.com for instance, and all of the stuff for JA, and JO. Who knows tho it's LEC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zERoCooL2479 Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 Lets just hope that if they do allow use to mod it, that no abuse mods will be made. That will piss me off very much!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alegis Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 I have been admin abused in JO mostly on servers running your mod. In JA less since slider has the winning hand. When swbf was in dev they said they'd make the game very moddable. That's the opposite of trying to stop mods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler_Durden Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 Some of the guys on here have modded the .lvl files using a hex editor such as taking out vehicles, replacing vehicles at spawn points, etc. so it is possible to edit the game. The question is when they do release tools is how extensive the editing is going to be. Someone said they might be using an editor based off of Battlezone or something. It looks like a drag n' drop building editor with terrain manipulation added as well. Personally i hope that's the case as it would make mapping a whole lot easier and you'd see more maps released in a few days-weeks rather than months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richcz3 Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 There are actually quite a few Pandemic interviews online. Just do a search. In almost everyone, the interviewer asks about the differences between the versions and if the PC version will enable mods or supply tools. In each reply, it's basicaly a wait and see response. I would be surprised that a map editor more than four years old would work in Battlefront. Until some decompiles the lvl files, we won't know. richcz3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zERoCooL2479 Posted October 8, 2004 Share Posted October 8, 2004 Originally posted by Alegis I have been admin abused in JO mostly on servers running your mod. In JA less since slider has the winning hand. I coded a very vanilla version of my mod for JO without the abuse stuff in it for JA. Unfortunatly, since I didnt wanna do it, it was inevitable that someone would copy my ideas and destroy the JA community. Anyways, its water under the bridge, the game sucked anyways... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinxMelq Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 ...<1st post here >... So...is it allowed? ad will they release a mod pack or something that make our work easier? I'd really like to mod this game, as I see a lot of interesting possibilities on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
^Invader Posted October 9, 2004 Share Posted October 9, 2004 I would say it is, cause most companies know now that mods takes the game and makes it playable after awhile, i would wait and see on the tools i have a feeling they will come out soon, but who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted October 9, 2004 Author Share Posted October 9, 2004 Originally posted by richcz3 I am a bit puzzled .. you're an Administrator asking that question? Being an Admin means I'm in the ruling council of these forums. That alone doesn't give me any special insight into the minds of game developers or company politics for LucasArts (we're a fan site remember?). Sides, I only paid scant attention to SWBF until the day I got the game sent to me for press review. Unfortunately due to a mix-up I recieved a console version for a system I didn't own. By the time I got the pc version all the major reviews had already taken place. So I'm like the rest of you guys, helping where I can and waiting for a decent patch. ; ) First and foremost "Historicaly" lucasarts was rather heavy handed regarding an early SW game (Jedi Kight: Dark Forces for the PC). I believe things have changed allot since then. In fact in interviews with developers at Pandemic, questions posed about modability are met with a wait and see approach. What little blurbs (none on this site) have been mentioned by Pandemic look favorable that some tools are being considered for release. Nothing concrete and no time schedule has been given. I agree with you there, things have changed, but it's still a case by case thing. The console friendly focus of this title doesn't raise my hopes much about the modability at this point, but considering the large user base, it could be just the shot in the arm that this title needs. I hope it happens, but I also hope they don't rely on that as a means to "fix" the game rather than actual patching (there's no substitute for the proffessional touch). From what I've read (since posting this) Pandemic wants to mod, but it's LA's call. For legal reasons the License Agreement is to protect themselves from some mod(der) defacing/harming the SW franchise, giving them the right to restrict content changes, by legal action if neccesary. Right, but other moddable Star Wars games allowed mod making in their liscense agreements on release. So they definately are being more cautious this time, hence my questioning "will they or won't they?." I realize that modding of this game is possible, but the thing is, if it's "illegal" then it really doesn't do us a lot of good, since that makes promoting mods and distributing them very problematic (it would destroy LFNetwork's entire relationship with the object of our fandom.. LucasArts & LucasFilm). Plus without the source and scripting, the mods you see will be very basic at best. Sure, new maps and models would be great but even then it'll take a long time for fans to create mod tools from scratch, which is why we'd need help to really get the mod community going (for comparisons see the JK/MotS community). As to LA allowing modding, that's NEVER a given. Remember how they forbade it with Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine? That was a huge letdown for the Indy community and probably killed the game for many of us. And here was a game based on the JK (Sith) engine, which at the time was having its major modding explosion. It was fully possible, but they said no, so it died a quick death. Thanks for your info & comments guys... I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFLPraxis Posted October 14, 2004 Share Posted October 14, 2004 Originally posted by Kurgan Okay guys, don't flame me, I know I'm new to this forum (been part of LucasForums longer than most, but new to SWBF I mean), but what is the story on editing? I know we all kind of assumed that we could legally mod this game because people modded Battlefield: 1942, the engine on which this game is based, but Star Wars games through LucasArts are a somewhat thorny issue. I was reading over the "liscense agreement" for this game and it sounds to me like they're saying "NO" we can't release third party mods. Or did LucasArts say one way or the other? Are they going to just look the other way and let us, without supporting it, like with the Jedi Knight series? Or is it forbidden? Because I think many of us can agree this game could use a little work, and unless they are planning some more patches and an Expansion or two, it's not going to last too long on the PC. No offense, I'm not saying it's a bad game, just needs a little work (I agree with IGN's assessment of the game in general). It would be nice to get an official word on this so we don't waste our time.... Hey, you go to SD.net, don't you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurgan Posted October 14, 2004 Author Share Posted October 14, 2004 Originally posted by GFLPraxis Hey, you go to SD.net, don't you? Yeah, that's me (for once). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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