Hey Dudes,
today we have to make a sad announcement.
We have to close/delete the Project!
The reason for this is that we made a official request to EA Games to prevent Copyright Problems in the future.
In the last days we get this Email from EA:
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for reaching out to Electronic Arts Inc. regarding your interest in using Red Alert 2. While we appreciate the passion that players like you have for our games and are delighted the franchise has inspired you to celebrate Red Alert in this way, we are unable to authorize your request to use our materials in your project. We have great respect for our fans and hope this response does not diminish your interest in our games.
Thank you,
EA Permission Requests Team
The Material which isnt allowed to use is nearly everything from Red Alert 2. Name, Sounds, Designs, Storyline and such on.
We are very disappointed about that... but have to accept the decision from EA.
for every red alert 2 fan i just say that you perhaps look into this project,
Moddb.com
This is something similar to our mod.
So thx to everyone who support our mod and the idea behind it.
:(
I really don't understand EA...
They started developing amazing games like Tiberium, Generals2. Then they suddenly shut those projects down.
And then when someone wants to create something amazing in the C&C universe, they don't allow it.
What the fck EA? What's wrong with you?
i dont know why they dont want it. Maybe they plan to make something similar in the next time. Who knows ^^
Yeah this is the only reasonable thing I could think of. Maybe they have plans with RA universe. I really hope that.
Have you actually played either Tiberium or Generals 2? Tiberium was a disorganized mess where the dev team spent more money on marketing materials and cutscenes rather than the actual game. As for Generals 2... I actually played it. While it could have been saved (maybe), it definitely deserved to be cancelled. It was honestly bad.
at the first time they said that generals 2 will be free to play.. i had known that will be a horrible fail :D
shame i think. cuz generals was one of the best games in the series in my opinion
They didn't say he couldn't make the project, only that he couldn't use assets that EA built to do so, which is the misunderstanding here.
a red alert 2 mod, without the name, the vehicles, the buildings, the sounds and the music isnt a red alert 2 mod :D
surely the name, sounds/music are not neccesary but the design of the vehicles, the shapes of the buildings and such one are very important. and even that is material which i asked to use.
its hard to understand but i asked in this requests every small piece of material we want to use. seperated in must have stuff = design of the ui, storyline, shape/design and name of vehicles and units,
and not so important stuff like sounds/music (last is very special thing cuz EA dont own the songs by itself)
they do really exactly know what we want to do and with which stuff we work.
so material is here everything what stands for red alert 2.
without that stuff its simple useless to try to make the mod
I think this is where the misunderstanding starts. They aren't saying that you cant use their ideas/world, just their assets themselves.
Having a Kirov Airship or Prism Tank, for example, is not wrong, even if it looks and behaves identically to the RA one. They are only saying you cannot directly use the models/sounds/codes/etc that EA/Westwood themselves built back in 1999 or whenever to make them. The idea, look, and even functions of the unit itself cannot be restricted in that regard.
You have to know that Material= Everything that belongs to Red Alert 2.
in my permission request i had to declare all stuff i need to have.. and all the stuff i want to make with that.
As Materials i want to use, i told them everything i need with the use of this stuff.
So when they talk about materials.. they mean everything I wrote down in this request.
for me and for EA its very clear what i wanted to make.
And they denied it. crystal clear announcement if you ask me.
and how i said. i dont want to have any risk
But Renegade-X itself got the approval? We really need a community manager to speak to the idiots at EA's legal department.
yea. Ren x asked long time ago for a legal use. and they got it.
I dont know why we dont get it.. but how i said. its EA´s decision. We have to accept it
Can you help for Red Alert 2 apocalypse rising?
i dont know if they ever asked EA for a ok. When they dont have.. it could be goes the same way like us.
formyself i dont plan to help Apocalypse rising.. They do really good work no question. But they have another Idea of the design(vehicles) like i have. So thats could be to difficult.
We got permission a long time ago.
ah . Very good. I wish the best to your mod. its really cool.
i believe the reason this project didn't get the okay from EA is due to the fact, AR got the permission and EA is trying to avoid a conflict of interest between two games running similar ideas. that is just one thing i believe EA is doing when it comes to command and conquer. i've seen this before from other mods with other developers, not just EA. it's a rough time and always sad to send fans a rejection letter... best of luck to AR and on your next venture Ska-ara!
Knowing how ****** EA with their modding community and C&C franchise as a whole was it really necessary to ask them for such an unnecessary permission? I mean a lot of mods out here don't even bother with that and doing pretty fine. No idea why you did that. The email you got is from bunch of suits from EA, i bet they don't even know what the mod is, you doomed your project. You're making a Mod, which is non-profitable in any way, it's perfectly OK for you to make it.
some guys from renegade x told us to ask EA for using theyre stuff. its not only that we made something with uses ideas from Red Alert 2.. no we uses sounds too. and we wanted to use music too.
Espacialy Music is something really important to ask because EA and Frank Klepacki owns the rights on this music. And in germany we have a hard law on musican stuff.. so we had to ask in every way for this.
And im my personal opinion.. better ask now and have a clear answer.. than making it many month/years and then have to delete it.
Cuz that i hope that the Apocalypse Rising Mod will have an ok. Woukd be a shame when they have to close it too in the future
What they legally can't allow you to use is the actual game's assets and replicating the game to sell or giving RA2 for free. They can't force you to cancel your mod or create something in the RA2 setting. Continue your mod, the way you worded your request, they assumed you wanted to use their assets in a copyright breaking way, but they can't stop you from modding RenX, especially if you have no intention on selling your mod.
What you're doing is totally legal. Trust me, I'm a community leader. They can't ask you to take down your mod because it doesn't break copyright. They just misunderstood your request and what it implied. It has happened before with other mods who made that request. I also have friends in modding and others who study law who say it's all good and there's no copyright issues, but to change the name of the mod simply so it doesn't say "Red Alert 2" in it (don't add "Command & Conquer" into it, either).
So keep going and make the mod, you're fine. :p
im sry to say that.. but in my request i showed very detailed what i want to use and which materials i want to use.
every kind of work they did.. IS theyre own stuff. its starts with music/sounds, goes over the name, the storyline and such on.
Its self explentation that they can forbid me to use theyere ideas/stuff.
even in the non commercial mod working they can do this.
You are German, as I am, but frankly your English is crap. You mess up words (not just spelling mistakes but also just using the wrong word) and your grammar is just plain bad.
It's very easy to assume a misunderstanding here.
i try the best with my english. sry when its not enough to understand ^^
); Why EA Ruins Everything ?
Guys, just change your mod's name to "Renegade Alert 2" or something of the sort and you'll be good to continue, EA won't be able to cancel your project. Oh, and don't sell your mod for money or ask for money for its development, either, because that could cause legal issues.
May EA burn in hell
I was so hyped!! D:
EA isn't saying you can't make the mod at all, only that you cannot directly lift their assets to do so, which does actually make sense. Assets, in this case, being models/music/sound effects/code/etc, but simply the act of making something set in the C&C/Red Alert universe should not be a problem at all.
Exactly. Rhys is experienced with the modding community, as am I, and I can guarantee you it won't be a problem. You can especially trust Rhys. Don't take it from me, listen to these guys. Ask the Renegade X, Reborn, APB and Red Alert 2 : Apocalypse Rising teams as well. I'm sure they'll say the same thing.
see my answer in your other post.
im not ready to risk something. i have to follow german and american law.. so i dont want to get an "cease and desist" or something like this. sry guys.
for my its a clear situation: Renegade X has a ok. I dont have it. I dont know if Sun Reborn/Apocalpse Rising/ABP, every asked for a ok. If they dont have.. it COULD be in the future that they get problems to. Maybe yes.. maybe no ^^
and aslong no one here is a law pro in GERMAN and American Copyright laws and talked with me.. i will not change my mind
We're all reminded of the reason we hate EA
Don't you worry, EA, you lowered my interest to zero years ago.
I hate when Fan-works got Screwed by the Lawyers no matter how legal they are(since using Copyrighted stuff isn't illegal as long as it isn't for getting profits) and that's why I hate EA, it come to play when Google put Ridiculous Copyright policy into Youtube by the time Google bought Youtube
in german its illegal to use stuff which isnt your own.
Companys can endure that.. but this dont mean that hey give a ok.
So endurement dont means thats legal
I'm very disappointed with the attitude of the EA in relation to this. Just when I want to help in a construction of a game, they destroy a dream of mine. Probably the reason is that they are planning something red alert, so why the renegade was released to be produced by third parties?
Anyway paid Ska -ara attempt . If later you are enteressado in producing a game you can count on me.
*triple_facepalm
If i get it right, YOU have mailed EA for their permission to make UNOFICIAL and NONCOMERCIAL MOD for NONCOMERCIAL GAME based on their game? Seriously?
It is the most stupidiest thing ever in modding craft...
EA is not giving sh*t about modding community (according to their latest games).
Hey, Ska-ara, look at all that mods and remakes community makes, based on C&C franchise... They somehow exist... And for some reason EA have banned your mod, but didnt banned RenX?
Sounds weird, dont you think?
You have made mistake that you messed with EA...
What a joke...
Renegade X was seen as 'original' enough and was constructed as a rebuild of the original game, perhaps that's why. As a Red Alert 2 First Person Shooter was never made, it's not seen as a rebuild.
The Red Alert 2 VR-Experience is seen as a rebuild, so that gets permitted.
i have just checked that RA2 VR project, and guess what? they had sent them almost the same copy/paste e-mail text as they had sent to Sca-ara, which means they dont even bother to write the thing... as i said, these guys are nothing than a joke...
Uploadvr.com
Will they allow you to rebuild your own content as 'Inspired By' Red Alert 2?
Though they may not provide materials and assets, they may still allow you to construct your own.
The original teams that made the Westwood games were smaller and maybe less capable then y'all. You should really organize and make your own IPs.