More AI mods

[Gigafiga]

Hello,

why all the unofficial Mods, with team behind and thousands of downloads, couldn’t be included in the core game as AI at least?

 

it would be great, cost free and  immediate.  

im talking about all mods already recognized in dcs mods forum.

ED would keep even more control on the core game…and nothing will preclude future 3d party upgrade to became official mod.

 

often i see discussion about problems to develop modern 4/5gen mods, but what if a B2/F22/F35 ect as an AI?

[AndyJWest]

'Cost free'? ROFL. In your dreams:

(1) Licensing from the relevant manufacturers.

(2) Adding it all to the relevant packages.

(3) Testing.

(4) Fixing all the interoperability bugs.

(5) Maintenance: fixing all the new bugs that appear whenever anything changes. Bugs in what may well be poorly-documented software.

That's assuming you can get the permission of the mod creators required, and after you've paid a copyright lawyer to check over everything to ensure you don't get sued to oblivion...

 

 

[Rudel_chw]

3 minutes ago, Gigafiga said:

why all the unofficial Mods, with team behind and thousands of downloads, couldn’t be included in the core game as AI at least?

 

Every DCS asset requires maintenance, after big core updates ED would have to dedicate man-hours to test that every asset works, and update those that dont work anymore. Surely you can understand that ED prefers to maintain their own assets, than have to work with assets that were not originally made by them, that have no documentation, etc.

 

3 minutes ago, Gigafiga said:

it would be great, cost free and  immediate.  

cost free?  So the original authors of the 3d model would not get any compensation? The owners of the aircraft’s trademark would not receive a license fee? Your assumptions are unrealistic.

[MAXsenna]

@Gigafiga

More knowledgeable users than me, will give you smarter answers. 

But from my understanding following this forum for some years,  from time to time this question is asked. And it's a good question. 

Many mods have been acquired/purchased as 3D models from others, that cannot be automatically included in a paid application. Now the core of DCS is free though. But it seems that ED might not take that chance. And that's fully understandable.

Who will maintain these when the mod makers have left or are not maintaining the mods? ED? What does the EULA say about these purchased models?

What happens if ED for some reason receives a "cease and desist" for some of these models that have been used in a DLC campaign?

Of course there are other "games" that handles this in some ways. Like that bohemian shooter. I have no clue how. But the way they let users download and use mods is excellent. Might be a Steam thing though, so it gets some separation. Don't remember actually, even if I have all the DLCs and have downloaded mods. I my time in that one might be a couple of hours, like that space sim which completely rymes with "ED".  

My opinion, would be that ED makes a launcher in similarities with another old favourite F-16 derivative, where you can change settings before starting the SIM, drag your sensors to other screens etc. AND include an official Mod Manager of some sorts.

Smart "games" has official launchers! 

I can see that two others have answered before me, and now I'm curious to read their answers! 

Cheers! 

Edit: Read them. Seems I'm not too far off.  

Edited July 23, 2023 by MAXsenna

[Silver_Dragon]

None has "cost free / free to all"
1- Mod creators have to justify and demonstrate that their 3d models / Luas / created content is from scratch and is not purchased content / from another licensed product / is licensed for use in another product / is not subject to trademark licensing / is not third party content / and is contractually authorised for use / that is not subject to a claim by another company or a "Cease and Desist" / and have a signed legal authorisation for use on DCS World and have no legal issues with copyright, trademark / third party content.
2- It is quite possible that ED will force such a content creator to become a 3rd party, due to ED not being able to take over its maintenance / to sign a legal contract for the transfer of content to ED.
3- The content must meet the quality standard stipulated by ED in order to be included in DCS World, creators must demonstrate a certain level of use and competence in 3D modelling / programming / tool usage.
4- If it is 3rd party, and access is given to the SDK, the content created must not only pass the quality standards, but also be registered as a registered product to prevent others from using it. By taking the corresponding legal measures.

Edited July 23, 2023 by Silver_Dragon

[upyr1]

3 hours ago, Gigafiga said:

Hello,

why all the unofficial Mods, with team behind and thousands of downloads, couldn’t be included in the core game as AI at least?

 

it would be great, cost free and  immediate.  

im talking about all mods already recognized in dcs mods forum.

ED would keep even more control on the core game…and nothing will preclude future 3d party upgrade to became official mod.

 

often i see discussion about problems to develop modern 4/5gen mods, but what if a B2/F22/F35 ect as an AI?

The assets would need to be supported. I would love to see our modders decide to get their mods turned into official DCS assets. A lot of people just don't think it is worth their time, or the modules will pass ED's standards. meanwhile, I'm impressed with the work and would love to see them in the game. 

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

I’m not sure licensing fees would apply here: since DCS World is free-to-play would it technically be defined as a “commercial product”?

I bet this is one of the ways ED can get out of some financial overhead and why they want to keep the core F2P instead of adding a (optional) subscription model

[Silver_Dragon]

26 minutes ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

I’m not sure licensing fees would apply here: since DCS World is free-to-play would it technically be defined as a “commercial product”?

I bet this is one of the ways ED can get out of some financial overhead and why they want to keep the core F2P instead of adding a (optional) subscription model

About a license "fees" has into 3rd party agretment to convert on 3rd parties and put official content on DCS.

DCS World has a license comercial product... read the EULA
https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/es/support/license/

[SharpeXB]

1 hour ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

I’m not sure licensing fees would apply here: since DCS World is free-to-play would it technically be defined as a “commercial product”?

I bet this is one of the ways ED can get out of some financial overhead and why they want to keep the core F2P instead of adding a (optional) subscription model

DLC campaigns could use the AI and those are payware products. 

[Gigafiga]

 

Good discussion… so lazy mods creators, don’t buy external model, but create it from scratch!

compensation for the existing free mods teams right now is zero, if ED decide to include your mods as officia AI model into the core game, it would be considered as award for the team, and an extra bonding to ED. In case that extra mod became a full fidelity mod, that team would be in a clear advantage.

implementation and testing, are already done on all unofficial mods that exist from more than a year

maintenance/update, im talink about an AI, it’s only the external model, i’m not talking about a full fedelity cockpit. The external model could be even simplified to start.

 

fees/copyright, i’d like to hear from ED, it would be very helpful to all mods creator

[AndyJWest]

Whether something is 'free to play' or not has no direct relevance under copyright law. The reason that creators of free mods don't get sued for copyright breaches and related intellectual property concerns more often is because it isn't generally worth the expense of doing so. If ED were to incorporate such material into their product, they'd be making themselves legally liable for any infringements.

I won't go into details here, since it concerns another sim, but there have been circumstances in the past where just using the name of an aircraft and/or manufacturer without permission has resulted in a developer having to cancel product development. 

 

[Jenson]

Would love to see AI A-6 aircraft, top wish list. 

[draconus]

3 hours ago, Jenson said:

Would love to see AI A-6 aircraft, top wish list.

It's still WIP.

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