Who to ask?….Permissions

[NailBuster]

Hey,  Just wanted to point out that I’m ‘new’ to the virtual pinball world/scene and think all this ‘fan’ work in creating tables, art and tech is awesome.

ok…lets say for example,  I want to start a WIP of a PinUpPlayer version of Avatar…

It’s my understanding that tables have ‘evolved’ and modded through different peoples along the line (usually from FP or something).

When I see “mod:  yes with permission”…does that mean asking the original table author(from FP for example) or the mod table author?  Or do I ask James Cameron himself :)

I understand(and expect) that everyone involved in a table gets credit for their work,  just trying to get an idea of who to ask…and don’t ruffle any feathers :)

I’m guessing this isn’t a problem 99% of the time?

what about thoughts of making a PupB2s Pak for a table….since no vpx table/script was touched I’m assuming people won’t need permissions, but it’s still good to give a ‘heads-up’? and as always credit authors….

Btw:  I’m starting a WIP of Avatar PuP!!

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[randr]

I would ask the main author of the vp version your modding. I do like the patch idea as option for sure!

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Messing with the VPinball app and push notifications.
So if you haven't downloaded app yet what are you waiting for!?
for IOS and Android

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Messing with the VPinball app and push notifications.
So if you haven't downloaded app yet what are you waiting for!?
for IOS and Android

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[TerryRed]

NailBuster wrote:

Hey, Just wanted to point out that I’m ‘new’ to the virtual pinball world/scene and think all this ‘fan’ work in creating tables, art and tech is awesome. ok…lets say for example, I want to start a WIP of a PinUpPlayer version of Avatar… It my understanding that tables have ‘evolved’ and modded through different peoples along the line (usually from FP or something). When I see “mod: yes with permission”…does that mean asking the original table author(from FP for example) or the mod table author? Or do I ask James Cameron himself :) I understand(and expect) that everyone involved in a table gets credit for their work, just trying to get an idea of who to ask…and don’t ruffle any feathers :) I’m guessing this isn’t a problem 99% of the time? what about thoughts of making a PupB2s Pak for a table….since no vpx table/script was touched I’m assuming people won’t need permissions, but it’s still good to give a ‘heads-up’? and as always credit authors…. Btw: I’m starting a WIP of Avatar PuP!!

PuPB2S:

As far as creating a PuPB2S, you are not editing someone else’s table, so no I don’t think you need to ask anyone for permission to create that. That’s no different than someone creating a B2S for someone else’s table without asking them. We as players can pick and choose what B2S we want to use with a table, and we certainly don’t ask if we can do that.  PuPB2S is not different.

 

PuP table MOD:

If you are creating a PuP “Mod” of a table, then yes you should try to ask for permission to mod the table. For all you know the author may still be updating their table. It’s also a simple courtesy, and the author may even be able to help you out!

Now, how far do you go with asking permission? The most recent “author” should be fine. It’s simply unrealistic to expect to ask every person involved with the creation over the evolution of the final product. A great example are many of these VPX table are actually converted from FP versions, and you can have many people involved on both the FP creation and the VPX creation. However….asking the most recent “modder” of a table should NOT be ok, if they simply did a mod, and not the majority of the work. A great example is if someone asks me if they can mod Tron Legacy PuP (which Rusty did), I would ask them to contact the original author to see if it’s ok. I feel a little protective of the work I did, but the table isn’t mine as far as I’m concerned.

Now, if someone is not active anymore, and you have tried to contact them with no response over a respectable amount of time, then as far as I’m concerned, you should be able to mod the table, as long as you give them full credit for the table’s creation.

For ROM’s FP tables, I tried forever to contact him on all forums, but never got a response. So I did the MOTU Mastered Edition mod of his table. Long after, I was contacted by him on Youtube and he said he loved what I have done with his tables. That meant a lot to me.

For SLAMT1LT, I contacted him long ago to ask about doing DOFLinx mods to his tables. He said that he is ok with anyone modding his tables and posting them to share. Recently, his job position changed at Heighway Pinball, so it’s now awkward for him to share his works online. As a result he has seemed to cut contact from everyone in the community (I’m assuming for plausible deniability). I have tried numerous times to contact him since with no response. So unless I hear otherwise from him (or see it on his website or a forum), then I am assuming that mods to his tables are still fine.

For Stranger Things, I only wanted to mod Scotty’s table for adding in more addressable led effects. Since its an original table, this would allow me to do much more. I contacted him and he was fully supportive of it.

For Tron Legacy VPX PuP Edition….. well I screwed up there. I originally was just modding the table as a test for PuP. Then as PuP development progressed….so did Tron’s PuP mod. I was so excited and caught up with what I was doing, that I completely forgot to directly contact ICPjuggla to ask permission to mod the table. Yes, I wasn’t changing the table itself at all…just added Timers, and PuP-specific script…but its still a courtesy I should have done. I also didn’t even mention the VPX authors in my demo video (which I always do), so I also felt crummy about that.

 

As long as you try to contact a table author as much as you can, and you give them full credit for the table’s creation…then I don’t see too many people having an issue.

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