Slashdot Mirror
Bioware Release Neverwinter Nights Beta Toolset
Zed Pobre writes "Careful review of the EULA of the Neverwinter Nights Beta Toolset reveals the following clause:
Section 4(b):
"By distributing or permitting the distribution of any of your Modules, you hereby grant back to INFOGRAMES and BIOWARE an irrevocable royalty-free right to use and distribute them by any means. Infogrames or BIOWARE may at any time and in its sole discretion revoke your right to make your Modules publicly available."
This is more or less the same as if a company producing a compiler wrote into the EULA that by distributing any program compiled with that compiler, the company would permanently get the rights to do whatever they wanted with that program, including reselling it for profit and then forbidding you to publish it yourself.
Derek French, the Assistant Producer for Bioware, confirmed that this section of the EULA is not going to change for the final release. Although he noted in the same message that similar clauses have been used by other companies providing tools for users to create their own content, NWN has a much greater scope than any of them by far, and it's now a profoundly bad idea for someone who wants to keep control of their writing, characters, or game ideas , or use those elements elsewhere, to make a NWN module using those elements publically available.
This kind of clause falls just short of "Bioware Owns Anything You Make", since if they want to sell a module you created themselves, the clause even allows them to forbid you from distributing your original version for any reason. The sole comfort in this is that the clause apparantly does not allow them to make a derivative work of your module, so it would have to be distributed "as is" -- but if the module contained enough "objectionable" material that they wouldn't want to take it for themselves, they could still forbid the owner from distributing it.
Once again, it seems that companies are only against piracy as long as it's their material being pirated. If they can pirate some individual's material by throwing an unreadable EULA up for a second at install time, it's perfectly fine.
The full forum thread discussing this can be found here."
The file it's self is 241mb and can be downloaded from Bioware
Somewhere in America, an English teacher is crying and doesn't know why.
Here's the mirrors from the forum:
3D Gamers
Click Here
Baron Bosse
http://130.237.161.56/NWN_Tools_BETA.EXE
FilePlanet
http://www.fileplanet.com/index.asp?file=88066
gec
http://flinx.com/NWN (Mountain View)
http://jibe.biz/NWN (Redwood City)
http://sol.olymp.org/NWN
Use BitTorrent 0.7.1 from http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/download.html to download http://130.237.68.4:8080/NWN_Tools_BETA.EXE
http://130.237.161.56/NWN_Tools_BETA.EXE
AusGamers
(Sydney Australia)
It's actually not that limited.
:(
You can do everything that you will be able to do in the full version, there are just only about 15% of the models & textures that will be in the game (or so says the readme file).
I've already made a small module with NPCs, monsters, custom scripts, conversations, etc.... It's great once you learn how to do stuff. Now if only I could actually PLAY the module I created! *sigh*
(...and for a Neverwinter scripting competition thing, visit http://members.rogers.com/scriptwars )
(Grabbed from a NWN Forum post by Derek French - NWN Assistant Producer)
Greetings all:
We are trying to organize a list of Beta Toolset Mirrors. If you have the Toolset and have a mirror of the install files, please post them here.
Also, for your download security pleasure, here are the MD5 checksums for the individual files:
AUTORUN.INF - C14C468795575BCE73D84989262479B4
data1.cab - 181F15C7F19E07C92727D9C49E820E40
data1.hdr - B4F103D55E8FFAAA94505716A7C82DE1
data2.cab - A7B82CE88F1FAF469892FC12208655D8
ikernel.ex_ - 4D63BBFF28AFC7A69B6DEFAF048306A7
layout.bin - 26D40B394685321838E00002C30CBEE7
readme.txt - 6CD49925A70C04B3393DEF39F44F4B51
setup.bmp - 03A01D22277FFC06F91B475696946B81
Setup.exe - 1AEB989E361AF85F5099DE3DA25457F4
Setup.ini - FEB5DB091554FE2E65CFED8E2E9D292A
setup.inx - 5AFB35300108D078A2B942DD85759E45
FilePlanet version: NWN_Tools_BETA.EXE - 6D4B52FE7264C16BE9A0A3B506E9456C
MIRROR LIST: 3D Gamers Link
(End of Derek's Post)Baron Bosse Link
FilePlanet Link
gec Link Link Link
Yet another mirror I have found: Neverwinter Vault Link
At the point where I am reading this thread there are 55 replies. Of that, only ONE comments on the EULA. Everyone else is foaming all over themselves trying to download the thing.
If that were an EULA from Microsoft, everyone would be calling for a downloading boycott and legal action...
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
It's hard to describe just how flexible and sophisticated this toolset is.
There's a wonderful thread here which shows what people have built in the first 24 hours after the tool was released.
However, these screenshots don't convey the depth of the scripting language that you can use to customize just about anything in the game world.
Bioware's so-called "license" that lays claim to anything you create using their tools is not the first of its kind. Activision pulled exactly the same shite a few years ago with a "license" attached to a version of Worldcraft. And yes, Activision got flayed alive for it. But it's not clear whether they learned their lesson. Bioware certainly hasn't.
A copy of the old Activision/Worldcraft license is appended below (with minor reformatting for HTML). Honestly, these childish people who complain so bitterly and shrilly about "theft" really need to take a good, hard look in the mirror.
Schwab
________________________
Software License Agreement Summary:
The use of this software is subject to the terms of the Software License Agreement below. You must accept the Software License Agreement before you can use Level Utilities. The Level Utilities are provided strictly for your personal use. The use of the Level Utilities is subject to additional license restrictions contained in the Software License Agreement and may not be commercially exploited.
SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
IMPORTANT - READ CAREFULLY: THE LEVEL PROCESSING UTILITIES (THE "LEVEL UTILITIES") FOR USE WITH HEXEN II (THE "PROGRAM") ALLOWS YOU TO CREATE CUSTOMIZED NEW GAME LEVELS AND OTHER RELATED GAME MATERIALS FOR PERSONAL USE IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROGRAM ("NEW GAME MATERIALS"). THE USE OF THE LEVEL UTILTIES IS SUBJECT TO THE SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS SET FORTH BELOW. BY USING THE LEVEL UTILTIES, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY AND ARE BECOMING A PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT WITH ACTIVISION, INC. ("ACTIVISION"). IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE THE UTILITIES AND COMPLETELY REMOVE THEM FROM YOUR COMPUTER AND YOUR POSESSION.
LIMITED USE LICENSE. Activision grants you the non-exclusive, non- transferable, limited right to use the Level Utilities for the purpose of creating New Game Materials solely and exclusively for personal use. For purposes of this Agreement, "New Game Materials" represent computer data that modifies, substitutes for or adds new materials to the materials currently contained in the Product, thus modifying or replacing one or more existing game levels and other constituent elements provided in the Product. You shall not create New Game Materials, or tools that have no substantial purpose other than to contribute to the creation of New Game Materials, except as expressly permitted pursuant to this Agreement.
All rights not specifically granted under this Agreement are reserved by Activision and, as applicable, its licensors. The Level Utilities are licensed, not sold. Your license and the use of the Level Utilities confers no title or ownership in the Level Utilities or the New Game Materials created using the Level Utilities and should not be construed as a sale of any rights in the Level Utilities or such New Game Materials.
OWNERSHIP. All title, ownership rights and intellectual property rights in and to the Level Utilities and the New Game Materials created by you using the Construction Kit are owned by Activision or its licensors and are protected by the copyright laws of the United States, international copyright treaties and conventions and other laws. In the event that you should, by operation of law, be deemed to retain any rights in any New Game Materials created by you, you, by using the Level Utilities, hereby irrevocably assign, without any further consideration and regardless of any use by Activision of such New Game Materials, all of your rights and interest, if any, in and to such New Game Materials to Activision. You also hereby grant Activision an irrevocable, perpetual, exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free license to exercise any rights, including moral rights, to any and all aspects of the New Game Materials. You agree that Activision shall have the full and complete right to package, publish, print, copy, promote, market, distribute, transfer and display the New Game Materials created by you and prepare derivative works based upon such New Game Materials, and any derivative works thereof, anywhere throughout the world.
LICENSE CONDITIONS.
You agree that as a condition to Activision's consent to allow you to use the Level Utilities, you will not use or allow third parties to use the Level Utilities and the New Game Materials created by you for commercial purposes, including but not limited to selling, renting, leasing, licensing, distributing, or otherwise transferring the ownership of such New Game Materials, whether on a stand alone basis or packaged in combination with the New Game Materials created by others, through any and all distribution channels, including, without limitation, retail sales and on-line electronic distribution. You agree not to solicit, initiate or encourage any proposal or offer from any person or entity to create any New Game Materials for commercial distribution. You agree to promptly inform Activision in writing of any instances of your receipt of any such proposal or offer.
If you decide to make available the use of the New Game Materials created by you to your friends, family, co-workers and other fellow gamers, you agree to do so solely without charge.
You shall create New Game Materials only if such New Game Materials can be used exclusively in combination with the retail version of the Product. The New Game Materials may not be designed to be used as a stand-alone product.
New Game Materials shall not contain modifications to any COM, EXE or DLL files or to any other executable Product files.
New Game Materials must not contain any illegal, obscene or defamatory materials, materials that infringe rights of privacy and publicity of third parties or (without appropriate irrevocable licenses granted specifically for that purpose) any trademarks, copyright-protected works or other properties of third parties.
New Game Materials must contain prominent identification at least in any on-line description and with reasonable duration on the opening screen: (a) the name and E-mail address of the New Game Materials' creator(s) and (b) the words "THIS MATERIAL IS NOT MADE OR SUPPORTED BY ACTIVISION."
You will not use the Level Utilities to reverse engineer, extract source code, modify, decompile or disassemble the Program, in whole or in part.
TERMINATION. Without prejudice to any other rights of Activision, this Agreement will terminate automatically if you fail to comply with its terms and conditions. In such event, you must immediately discontinue the use of the Level Utilities and any New Game Materials created using the Level Utilities.
INJUNCTION. Because Activision would be irreparably damaged if the terms of this Agreement were not specifically enforced, you agree that Activision shall be entitled, without bond, other security or proof of damages, to appropriate equitable remedies with respect to breaches of this Agreement, in addition to such other remedies as Activision may otherwise have under applicable laws.
INDEMNITY. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold Activision, its partners, licensors, affiliates, contractors, officers, directors, employees and agents (specifically including, but not limited to, Id Software, inc., and Raven Software, inc.) harmless from all damages, losses and expenses arising directly or indirectly from your acts and omissions to act in using the Level Utilities pursuant to the terms of this Agreement
MISCELLANEOUS. This Agreement represents the complete agreement concerning this license between the parties and supersedes all prior agreements and representations between them. It may be amended only by a writing executed by both parties. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable and the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall not be affected. This Agreement shall be construed under California law as such law is applied to agreements between California residents entered into and to be performed within California, except as governed by federal law and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in Los Angeles, California.
If you have any questions concerning this license, you may contact Activision at 3100 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, California 90405, (310) 255-2000, Attn. Business and Legal Affairs, legal@activision.com
Hexen II(tm) ©1997 Raven Software Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Id Software, Inc. software code contained within Hexen II(tm) © 1996 Id Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Developed by Raven Software Corporation. Published by Id Software, Inc. Distributed by Activision, Inc. under sublicense. Hexen® is a registered trademark and Hexen II(tm) is a trademark of Raven Software Corporation. The Id Software name and the id logo are trademarks of Id Software, Inc. Activision® is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective companies.
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
Hi all. I just wanted to jump in here and try and clear up some of the confusion.
First, read your EULAs for Quake 3, Half-Life, StarCraft, etc. (other games that allow you to create content). All of them say the same thing that we are saying. Our EULA is nothing new. They must be written this way to protect both the companies involved and the end users. I am serious. Read the EULAs of those other games.
Every time a new game comes out, someone actually reads the EULA and the spectres of corporate exploitation rears its head. Its just not happening. id, Blizzard, Valve, none of these companies have ripped off their fans. Why? Because its suicide. And we aren't doing it either.
Babbster - no, you cannot use your friend's novel nor on Star Wars, or any other existing licenced or copyrighted content for the basis of a module. This is prohibited by the EULA. Your friend can create a module based on his novel. CoreyGH has it right.
Some other comments:
Windows only. Really? Then I guess I better shut down this Neverwinter Nights Linux dedicated server that I am playing on right now...
Toolset is Windows only. Borland was supposed to have Builder for Linux done a long time ago and that was what we were going to use for Linux. We use Builder for Windows for the Toolset. The Linux Toolset is just not happening right at this moment.
The distribution statement means that you cannot charge anyone to play Neverwinter Nights. Neither for modules, nor for server access. This isn't a MMORPG.
And yes, our game is designed such that the end users do NOT need to download the modules in order to play on the server. No matter what module the server is running (well, pretty much).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Derek French
Producer, Live Team
Neverwinter Nights
What I don't understand is how the right to royalty-free distribution of modules protects Bioware and the end users. Can you give an example of where this provision would come in handy?
I understand that you may need to stop people from making Lord of the Rings modules and such, but there's a separate provision in the EULA for that.
Also, Sanuj's main concern on the BioWare thread doesn't seem to get addressed. I don't really care if Bioware distributes my module, but I would care if they used one of my characters in a spin-off novel. This isn't what the EULA is meant to allow, I gather.
Yogurt
BioWare is a privately owned Canadian company. We are not from the US.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Derek French
Producer, Live Team
Neverwinter Nights
If you make something with it (in, say, a week), you owe them at least giving them unrestricted access to it - they put in 5 years X x Developers and you, a week and $50.00. right?
Hardly. That's like saying that because Apple has invested years into developing iMovie, I owe them unrestricted access to movies I make with it. Wrong. Their compensation from me came when I purchased their product. Why should I compensate them any further by giving them any rights to my creations?
Perl - $Just @when->$you ${thought} s/yn/tax/ &couldn\'t %get $worse;
Since the toolset is Windows only, this seems to be the obvious way to go. Reverse engineer the file format(s), write an editor, use that editor to create the mods.
I am sure this is eventually going to happen anyway, bad EULA or not.
I completely understand people being negative about an EULA like this, given the abuse we've seen by other major companies in the past. OTOH, witness the following (posted by Derek French of Bioware to the forum thread):
So back on the first hand again, you gotta admit, he's got a point. Bad PR is more damaging than the fighting the best lawyers in the world, any way.
But back on the other hand, the thing I think is bizarre is that they're sticking by their position, even in the fact of reasoned criticism from informed but non-hostile observers. Their licence agreement does appear to be considerably more strongly worded than the cited previous EULAs for other games, after all, and whatever Derek says and however faithfully, they do still seem to have the legal right to take your stuff, sell it without credit, and forbid you from distributing it on the whim of a management weenie.
If Bioware genuinely believe the claims Derek makes above, there would be no harm in rewriting the EULA slightly to clarify the position. Then they'd be raved about on one of the most popular boards on the 'net, instead of having their motives questioned. Good PR beats the lawyers any day, too. :-)
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
This is equivalent to Ford saying that because I used Ford tools to machine after market engine parts for my Mustang that they can take ownership of those parts (or at least the design) at any time, and that I can not sell those parts to others.
I'm fine with the concept of selling software, I may believe in OSS but not exclusively, and as a coder I won't begrudge other coders the oppurtunity to make a living selling their software. What I am not ok with is Bioware turning corporate thug and trying to tell me what I can or cannot do with MY creations. Furthermore, I believe that despite Derek's statements to the contrary I CAN use copyrighted characters and settings provided that I don't make a profit from them, I'm reasonably certain this falls under fair use hence fan fiction.
Regardless of whether I agree with the license included, I don't have to live without the product. Bioware is (will be) selling a tool, once that tool is in my posession I can do with it what I like, when I like. I've agreed to the only license term that should be legal, I've paid some monetary price for the use of this tool, I will not copy it and circumvent Bioware's ability to make a living selling this tool, by distributing the copys, but that is the ONLY moral obligation I feel I owe once the product is purchased.
All I can say is that I wish I had the cash to fight them on this. It would be a worthy cause to start a company who's whole purpose is to expose the shit that software developers are trying to pull. I'd love to create a module, sell it for a penny and fight Bioware in court over my right to do so.
I'm the big fish in the big pond bitch.
Okay, disclaimer here: I work for BioWare, I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not on the Neverwinter team. I'm just a programmer.
:)
Okay, the difference that I see between the NWN toolset and iMovie is that what you create with iMovie is 100% your content. You went out and filmed it, and put it on your computer. Apple didn't provide you with people to be in your movies, stock plotlines if you're trying to make something cinematic, etc.
When you do something with the NWN toolset, you're USING NEVERWINTER. Not only have you been provided with the tools, but you've been provided with the content. ALL YOU'RE ADDING IS YOUR IMAGINATION. While that may arguably be the single most important part of a good campaign, the fact remains that you've used our toolset to lay some tiles (which we made) place some models (which we made) use some textures (which we made - but it's possible for you to make) and use a scripting language (which we made) to provide behaviours. Did I mention that the creatures, weapons and items are all things that were made at BioWare? Oh, and you're working within a rule-set that belongs to someone else, too.
In the end, I think it's less about the EULA being a bad thing, and more about the law being something that everyone has to protect themselves from. BioWare and Infogrames lawyers have said (I suspect) that to protect ourselves, we must have this clause in the EULA. Yeah, that sucks, but that's the law. We don't want trouble - who does - but the legal system will make life hell for SOMEONE if something goes bad. I also greatly suspect that something like this is in the EULA BECAUSE there was trouble somewhere in the past.
Anyway, that's just my opinion. I'm just a programmer, and I love NWN. If you don't want to create content because you're afraid that you'll be getting screwed, don't. There's a fantastic single player game that'll be well worth your money, and you don't have to worry about using OTHER people's modules, right?
Legally enforcable contract without consideration?
:)
You *are* recieving consideration, you just didn't notice
They are letting you use the toolkit.
Note: Do not interpret this clarifacation as support for Bioware. I hope some judge gets to look at this piece of crap and uses it as an excuse to rule all EULA's void.
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- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.