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Is it possible to use the assets from Heroes 7 (permissions, access, etc.)?
SRD
Posts from Legal aspects of modding.
AstralLein
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Ubisoft's permission? I don't think so, not without proof. Modern Ubisoft wouldn't give permission for anything without a good reason. At least, not for free.
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And remembering that person who supposedly communicated with a certain Ubisoft employee about mods and how it all ended...
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And remembering that person who supposedly communicated with a certain Ubisoft employee about mods and how it all ended...
zahar0z
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There is a technical possibility to use the assets from Heroes 7. Moreover, it is much easier than using the assets from Heroes 6, because Heroes 7 was made on Unreal Engine, and they didn't put much effort into it. In other words, it is actually quite easy to extract models, textures, and skeletons with animations from the game. It's a pity that you can't directly import the skeletons with animations into Heroes 5, and you'll still have to adapt them to the native skeletons of Heroes 5, plus, again, you'll have to reduce the number of polygons.
But from a legal point of view, I honestly don't quite know. It seems that as long as you don't sell these assets, everything is fine, but it also seems that it isn't. However, in theory, someone would have to be sufficiently concerned about it to sue you. It is unlikely that Ubisoft will take any action because of a couple of models. And there are many examples on the internet of assets from one game being used in other games. Moreover, these games are less related to each other than Heroes 5, 6, and 7. In general, it's all a bit of a gray area; it seems like you can, but it also seems like you can't. That is, Ubisoft always has the opportunity to crack down, but the question is, do they need to? Especially considering their level of interest in the Heroes series.
Even regarding Heroes 6, it's not entirely clear. It seems that it was said that the assets from Heroes 6 can be used for Heroes 5. But who gave this permission? And is there any guarantee that this permission has any legal force, or will it simply be forgotten in the event of some kind of dispute?
In theory, of course, it would be great, and it would be more interesting to do everything from scratch, not to use the assets from Heroes 6, 7, etc., but to reach that level ourselves. But firstly, this is much less in demand because, for the most part, people want to see "what it's like," and secondly, it is much more difficult and takes longer.
psatkha
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Technically, it is possible to use assets from Heroes 7. Moreover, it is much easier than using assets from Heroes 6, because Heroes 7 was made on Unreal Engine, and they didn't put much effort into it. This means that you can easily extract models, textures, and skeletons with animations from the game. It's a pity that you can't directly import the skeletons with animations into Heroes 5, and you'll still have to adapt them to the native skeletons of Heroes 5, plus, again, you'll have to reduce the polygon count. But from a legal point of view, I'm not entirely sure. It seems that as long as you don't sell these assets, it's okay, but it also seems that it might not be. However, in order for someone to sue you, it has to be something that concerns them enough to warrant a lawsuit. It's unlikely that Ubisoft will take any action over a couple of models. And there are many examples on the internet of assets from one game being used in other games, and these games are often less related to each other than Heroes 5, 6, and 7. In general, it's a gray area; it seems like you can do it, but maybe you can't. That is, Ubisoft always has the option to take action, but the question is whether they want to, especially considering their level of interest in the Heroes series. Even regarding Heroes 6, it's not entirely clear. It seems that it was said that assets from Heroes 6 can be used for Heroes 5. But who gave this permission? And is there any guarantee that this permission has any legal force, or is it just something that will be forgotten in the event of a dispute? Ideally, of course, it would be great and more interesting to do everything from scratch, not to use assets from Heroes 6, 7, etc., but to reach that level ourselves. But firstly, this is much less in demand because most people want to see "how it looks," and secondly, it's much more difficult and time-consuming.
I have an email from a Ubisoft representative in my inbox, answering my question about the legality of using content from Heroes 6 in Heroes 5, in which it clearly states that it is permissible to use it in non-commercial fan mods, specifically: "Yes, for modding (non-commercial projects), you can use assets from Heroes 6 for Heroes 5."! And regarding the question of using content from Heroes 5/6 in Heroes 7 [there was a time when I intended to transfer some creatures from Heroes 5 and NCF to Heroes 7, and fortunately, it is a little easier to do in the reverse order than from Heroes 7 to Heroes 5, using the appropriate tools, but the idea turned out to be very time-consuming], I have the following answer: "In response to your question, the recommendations remain the same: Yes, for modding (non-commercial projects), you can use assets from Heroes 6 for Heroes 5. If similar requests arise in the future, please do not hesitate to contact technical support at http://support.ubi.com"
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Did Ubisoft give permission? I don't think so, not without proof. Modern Ubisoft never gives permission for anything, at least not for free.
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And remembering that guy who supposedly talked to some Ubisoft employee about mods and how it all ended...
Sorry for the off-topic. I'm still in contact with Ubisoft; they keep passing me from one agent to another. The bottom line is that they don't allow modding of old projects, and the part of the license that says "mod whatever you want" only applies to new projects, and old games automatically lose this privilege. In the coming days, I will receive a new response from them, and I plan to write directly to Ubisoft headquarters, forwarding all the messages. Because customer support has already started telling me that using the map editor for Heroes 5 is illegal.
Right now, I'm specifically waiting for an answer: why do they continue to include the map editor with Heroes 5, indirectly encouraging users to violate their own license, if, according to support, you can't even open the editor for personal use.
Ment
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Since the support team has already started writing to me, claiming that using the map editor for Heroes 5 is illegal.
What about the "consumer protection law"? If they don't allow using one of the built-in features of the game, they should refund the money and pay a penalty...
There's one fundamental thing to understand when communicating with them. All these rules they come up with are just nonsense. Copyright restricts the sale and distribution of content; everything else is just fantasy. Even if such clauses are included in the license agreement (and I don't believe that the Heroes 5 license agreement contains a clause prohibiting modifications after the release of the next game), it formally has no legal force under the laws of any country.
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O_o
What about the "consumer protection law"? If they don't allow the use of one of the game's built-in features, they should refund the money and pay a penalty...
There's one fundamental thing to understand when communicating with them. All these rules they come up with are just nonsense. Copyright restricts the sale and distribution of content; everything else is just fantasy. Even if such clauses are included in the license agreement (and I don't believe that the Heroes 5 license agreement contains a clause prohibiting modifications after the release of the next game), it doesn't have any legal force, according to the laws of any country.
https://legal.ubi.com/termsofuse/ru-RU
Support refers to clause 3.1, stating that Heroes 5 is considered a service, and the new Ubisoft license is general for all products and supersedes old licenses.
I pointed out clause 6 to them, and they said that this clause only applies to new products, and if a new product is released in the series, the old product immediately loses the privileges of clause 6, and clause 3.1 applies to it.
I will get the final answer and send the entire correspondence to Ubisoft's headquarters. I'm interested in what the headquarters will say about such behavior from support and whether they are aware of all this or if it's just a quirk of the Russian support team.
Уриэль Септим Х
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I think the following approach should be used: there are two people involved – one is the official creator, and the other is a person who keeps backups on their computer. If they say, "Delete it, or we'll go to court," the official creator deletes everything and shows that there's nothing left. However, the person with the backups remains anonymous, which means all the materials can be anonymously leaked to others. If we represent this scheme as an element of a function, and the mod's development as data passed by reference to different functions for processing, it becomes almost an impenetrable scheme.
But these are just guesses; perhaps there's a way to find a loophole.
On the other hand, you're not creating a new game in the series; you're improving an old one, making a mod that isn't sold and doesn't contain microtransactions, so I think everything is fine.
But these are just guesses; perhaps there's a way to find a loophole.
On the other hand, you're not creating a new game in the series; you're improving an old one, making a mod that isn't sold and doesn't contain microtransactions, so I think everything is fine.
Ment
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The support refers to point 3.1, stating that Heroes 5 falls under the category of services, and the new Ubisoft license is general for all products, superseding old licenses.
But there is no more support. The servers are shut down. So, Heroes 5 is a standalone product.
P.S. I can move the discussion to another place to avoid going off-topic.
P.P.S. By the way, I read point 6. It attempts to bring the alienation of copyright under its umbrella:
In this regard, you confirm your agreement that UBISOFT will be the sole copyright holder with respect to the User-Generated Content (UGC) created by you using previously created UBISOFT Content, when and as such UGC is created by you.
AstralLein
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13zl is playing a dangerous game.
zahar0z
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I think it's pointless to bother Ubisoft's support team with such questions. In my opinion, they have clerks who spend 99% of their time answering questions like "Why won't the game install?". From such work, at the sight of even a slightly non-standard question, they just get a blue screen of death. And a typical support team employee is unlikely to be able to answer a question about copyright at all, since a law degree is probably not a requirement when hiring.
Therefore, the possible answers will simply be the guesses of a particular clerk, and will range from "use everything you want and however you want" to "using the map editor is a sin." And is it worth trusting such answers in the end?
But not everything is so sad. I think Ubisoft simply doesn't care about most of these things. Plus, they don't care about Heroes of Might and Magic right now. That is, I can hardly imagine a scenario where a giant like Ubisoft would spend time and resources to sue a particular mod creator, or even the entire tiny Heroes community. They are, of course, an empire of evil, and so on, but even they are not that crazy.
Well, purely in theory, if someone needed it, they could easily find something to use as a pretext, even if there is no real violation of the law. But seriously, come on. No one needs this. Otherwise, for example, they would have shut down all sorts of GWD and the like a long time ago, which, by the way, make money from their activities.
Therefore, the possible answers will simply be the guesses of a particular clerk, and will range from "use everything you want and however you want" to "using the map editor is a sin." And is it worth trusting such answers in the end?
But not everything is so sad. I think Ubisoft simply doesn't care about most of these things. Plus, they don't care about Heroes of Might and Magic right now. That is, I can hardly imagine a scenario where a giant like Ubisoft would spend time and resources to sue a particular mod creator, or even the entire tiny Heroes community. They are, of course, an empire of evil, and so on, but even they are not that crazy.
Well, purely in theory, if someone needed it, they could easily find something to use as a pretext, even if there is no real violation of the law. But seriously, come on. No one needs this. Otherwise, for example, they would have shut down all sorts of GWD and the like a long time ago, which, by the way, make money from their activities.
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A small update regarding modding in Heroes 5:
Anything not listed in point 6 is prohibited and falls under point 3.1.
https://legal.ubi.com/termsofuse/ru-RU
Quote from a support employee who initially stated that modding is completely prohibited, after which I was passed from one employee to another:
"Modifying content is a violation of the previously provided terms of use for Ubisoft services.
This does not apply to built-in game editors for maps and other content because this functionality is initially included in the game."
I will end my correspondence with Ubisoft here. Thank you for your attention.
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A small update regarding legal matters – modding is allowed only using the map editor.
If modding is done without it, UBI reserves the right to take action against the developer or turn a blind eye, which is essentially what they do, turning a blind eye to the entire community.
If modding is done without it, UBI reserves the right to take action against the developer or turn a blind eye, which is essentially what they do, turning a blind eye to the entire community.
atlant108
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If you follow their rules
https://legal.ubi.com/termsofuse/ru-RU
then it turns out that they only allow creating maps, as only the map editor can be used. But since the Ubisoft clerks are not monitoring modding right now, and technical support has been silent for a long time, it is better not to touch them and just quietly create mods.
https://legal.ubi.com/termsofuse/ru-RU
then it turns out that they only allow creating maps, as only the map editor can be used. But since the Ubisoft clerks are not monitoring modding right now, and technical support has been silent for a long time, it is better not to touch them and just quietly create mods.
zahar0z
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Let's bring up an old topic. Is it possible, and if so, from whom can one obtain permission to use assets from 6, 7, Dynasty, and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic for mods for 5?
A section for same-game mods for the fifth one appeared on Nexus relatively recently.
https://www.nexusmods.com/heroesofmightandmagicv/
This is pretty cool because Nexus is a large and good mod hosting site with a huge audience.
I became interested in finding out their attitude toward ported content from other games in mods.
It turns out like this.
https://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/Porting_content
Interestingly, regarding Ubisoft games it is written:
"Authorisation for porting of assets is done on a case-by-case basis;
Contact the community manager for the game in question."
This information was not made up by Nexus admins, but taken from Ubisoft's own texts.
That is, in theory, Ubi really could grant such permission. And ideally, in the case of some games, it might even be beneficial for them. For example, assets from the relatively little-known Dynasty presented in the popular but old fifth one can be perceived as advertising a new project for old fans.
Now let's try to find this mysterious "community manager" and "contact" them regarding our "game in question".
A section for same-game mods for the fifth one appeared on Nexus relatively recently.
https://www.nexusmods.com/heroesofmightandmagicv/
This is pretty cool because Nexus is a large and good mod hosting site with a huge audience.
I became interested in finding out their attitude toward ported content from other games in mods.
It turns out like this.
https://wiki.nexusmods.com/index.php/Porting_content
Interestingly, regarding Ubisoft games it is written:
"Authorisation for porting of assets is done on a case-by-case basis;
Contact the community manager for the game in question."
This information was not made up by Nexus admins, but taken from Ubisoft's own texts.
That is, in theory, Ubi really could grant such permission. And ideally, in the case of some games, it might even be beneficial for them. For example, assets from the relatively little-known Dynasty presented in the popular but old fifth one can be perceived as advertising a new project for old fans.
Now let's try to find this mysterious "community manager" and "contact" them regarding our "game in question".
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