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oblivion + crysis = shut down

oblivion + crysis = shut down

Oblivion + Crysis = Shut Down

Zips @ 3:30 pm pdt on 4/15/08 - mods & editing

Just as quickly as it came, the Oblivion Test Mod for Crysis is no more. It seems as though Crytek got a little antsy about the importing of another game's assets into its baby, despite the mod maker having no intentions to ever publicly release the test. The author has since removed all videos from Veoh and Youtube, but I managed to save a copy of it last night and will re-host it here for your viewing pleasure.

The news of the modification had actually made it to the front page of Digg the other day, and now it's nothing but a memory and a video. Here's what the closing post said from the Crytek Community Manager.

Today I do have a sad news for you guys. Unfortunately I have to completely lock the thread and ask the creator Salenger neither to not post the further progress on his imports, nor to release the whole project since it is a clear copyright infringement.

Due to the massive advert on that news that happened during the last days on digg.com and other editorial sites, we do not want to emphasize this kind of work. I completely understand you guys didn't mean anything bad when supporting his work, but that topic has gone a bit too far into the public section.

Please respect the work fo each developer and try to realize your own creations based on your favourite game rather than just porting assets from one game into another.

The creator had no intentions of releasing the mod, it was only displayed as a proof of concept to show others, and his work has been stifled. Where exactly is the justification to this ridiculous course of action?


comment #1 skankuser 3:57 pm pdt - 4/15/08	Crysis can suck my hairy balls! This is injustice!

comment #2 CannonGod 4:08 pm pdt - 4/15/08	This is ridiculous! It's a private mod and nothing more. It has been publicised on open networks like Digg and never once claimed to be drawing profit from it's endeavors. Both Oblivion and Crysis have SDKs with the sole purpose for players to alter in-game parameters. How can this be any different?

comment #3 debman3 6:28 pm pdt - 4/15/08	good job o.O

comment #4 UsernameGL 7:33 pm pdt - 4/15/08	What soundtrack does that song come from?

comment #5 Death-M0nk The M0nk 8:32 pm pdt - 4/15/08	sounds like something from LOTR, but I'm probably wrong

comment #6 Kira_zRo_ 8:55 pm pdt - 4/15/08	Don't flame me or anything, but I'm going to have to side with Crytek. I'm not anti-mod or anything, I was a big supporter of Daniel_K's issue with creative, but this has gone a tad too far. Crytek was is danger of a major lawsuit by not stopping such a blatant robbery of materials made by another development team (bethesda). You may be unhappy that the mod has been shut down, but at least give Crytek some credit. First off, they did what they HAD to do, if you ever want to see a Crytek 3 engine this mod couldn't exist. Second, they reported the closing down of the project in a truly regretful tone. Toward the end they even say "try to realize your own creations based on your favorite game" (they misspelled favorite btw) implying they want to support modders, as long as it is made using custom assets. I understand why people are upset that it was shut down, but don't get upset with Crytek (or even bethesda for that matter). Just hope modders will use their own assets for future mods.

comment #7 Zips Tin God - #csnation 9:14 pm pdt - 4/15/08	How can you sue someone for not actually releasing any of this publicly outside of videos and a few screenshots? There's no grounds for suing anybody in this. Maybe if he released it, then sure there'd be something. As it is, it's just asinine.

comment #8 -:Nighthawk:- Xfire me. (91%) My Steam Community 9:43 pm pdt - 4/15/08	UsernameGL wrote.. What soundtrack does that song come from? It's not LOTR, but the exact composer escapes me and I'd have to go digging through my music archive to find it. Needless to say, the music was done by a classical composer who's been dead long enough to not whine about possible copyright infringements. Rather unlike the Crytek moderator in question. From a legal standpoint, end users have always been free to release pictures and videos of their projects, even if they're using assets from other games they own. Copyright infringement only begins when you release the actual assets (which you personally have a license to use) to others for free (who do not have licenses from the original distributor). Seeing as that was not happening, and the author of this proof-of-concept tech demo clearly posted his intents to keep this as a private project for his own personal enjoyment, there really is no legal basis for a need to squash this project. Sorry to see such a neat concept buried out of cowardice. Thanks for mirroring the vid Zips... :)

comment #9 Kira_zRo_ 9:43 pm pdt - 4/15/08	I'm no lawyer so I may not have all my facts straight, but it seems that even releasing videos and screen shots may result in a lawsuit. Using someone else's creations (in this case models and textures) for personal gain, even if the gain is just attracting hits to a web site, can be considered a copyright infringement. Furthermore, Crytek specifically states that they "do not want to emphasize [the use of other's assets in mods]." My interpretation of this comment is that even if this Oblivion/Crysis mod is able to safely stay within the bounds of legal safety, others may not. Crytek simply wants to stop those, who may make and release a mod using bethesda's (or someone else's) assets, right now.

comment #10 Thortok2000 5:55 am pdt - 4/16/08	I figure copyright infringement is when you receive profit from it. However, Kira brings up a good point...sometimes simple website traffic can result in profit. So...I'm of two minds about this. I can see both sides of the issue. All I can say is it's a shame it had to go down that way.

comment #11 -:Nighthawk:- Xfire me. (91%) My Steam Community 1:21 pm pdt - 4/18/08	We're a CS fansite, and we make a profit from the traffic that comes to our site where we sometimes post screenshots and/or movies from Valve's maps. This isn't us violating their copyright laws -- on the contrary, it's us providing them with extra publicity. Posting media from games has always been within fair use rights... just can't post the source materials themselves Another case in point: machinima.

comment #12 Thortok2000 8:04 pm pdt - 4/18/08	It's a vague aspect of the law. I bet lawyers could toss it around for a year. The key aspect is that he 'ripped' both the engine of one game and the layout of another, and 'created' something he called 'his' creation (even if it's just screenshots and videos and not playable), and then 'profited' from distributing 'his creation' on the net, via website hits. Probably the key point revolves around the blending of the two different companies...the world of one, the engine of the other, and then the third of talking about it. Would probably have been less of a problem if he had just silently released it. shrug Like I said, I can see both sides of the issue. I really can't say which is 'right'...just that it's an awesome idea that didn't get to happen. =/ And I haven't played either game.