What are the usage limits/conditions of Freedoom assets?

Hi there,

I'll use this thread to introduce myself and to ask some questions.

I use Unreal Engine 4 to make game prototypes.

I also like to make walkthroughs of buildings I create with Sketchup, because I'm a draftman.

I'm finishing a game and I'll release another product on Epic's Marketplace soon.

Looking for textures and sounds I remembered Freedoom, I have the WADs on my Zandronum folder but I downloaded the source with all the assets.

When UE4 was released I thought that it would be cool to make a Doom total conversion or something like that.

One guy made a remake of the first Doom 2 map but didn't continue with the project.

A couple of weeks ago, with the release of the new Doom, I thought that I could make that total conversion myself, but I don't want to use any of the original assets to not get into legal trouble.

So that's why I'm here. I read that I can use Freedoom assets without any limitations but I wanted to be 100% sure.

This is my plan:

First off, I want to create a Doom clone using Freedoom graphics and sounds, with UE4 and with levels I'll make.

It will be a community project that I'll put on the Marketplace for free, so anyone wanting to design levels or to learn how to make an FPS will have the chance.

I'll maintain and update the source code.

I'll release a packaged game anywhere I can to showcase the project, including Steam.

I won't sell the game, the money I'd have the chance to make would come from donations, Ad revenue on Google Play, AND I'll send the project to the Unreal Dev Grants, so if they decide to give me money that would be another source of income.

Everything I learn from having the game on different platforms will be put and documented on the project, and if I learn how Github works I may upload it in there too.

Now the question is, am I totally free to use Freedoom assets however I want to accomplish my objective? Are there any conditions I have to meet first?

Of course I'll say where the assets come from and that may be possitive to increase awareness of the project, just imagine it on Steam.

I'd like to know what do you think about this.

Thanks in advance!

I found this: Commercial exploitation of Freedoom: an FAQ.

So I guess that what I'm thinking to do is what is asked to be done.

Edit: I don't understand this part: "The Freedoom license (the modified BSD license) requires that a copy of the license be distributed with all copies. This guarantees attribution to the Freedoom team."

How exactly do I do that?

This is the Freedoom license:
https://github.com/freedoom/freedoom/blob/master/COPYING

...and these are its conditions:

Freedoom license said:

* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* Neither the name of the freedoom project nor the names of its
contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
this software without specific prior written permission.

So, in both your source code and binary distribution, you should include a copy of the text file (or its contents) I linked to above without modifying it.

The last condition means you shouldn't go around claiming that Freedoom endorses your project, or pretending to be Freedoom.

Asides from that, you are free to do what you like with Freedoom resources, even if it is for profit.

When you say binary distribution you mean somewhere on the installation folder, right?

In other words, something like a readme.txt (or more appropriately license.txt) but with the licensing terms you just posted, correct?

Thanks for the answer!

Yeah, that's right.
Direct link to the licence text file here. Stick that in your game's installation folder and you should be fine.

Awesome, thank you for taking the time to clarify it, I'm extremely cautious with licensing stuff, it's a tricky subject.

Just a follow up to this topic - if I were to use some of the textures to create a video, would that be ok under the license? I can't see a way in the work I'm planning to include a license and there's generally no way to get any sort of credit on screen in a live show... 

any thoughts anybody?

cheers,

Chris

You could have little text after some credits. Big budget TV shows and movies do it all the time :P

Thanks for the suggestion chungy but it's for a live show (opera), there are never credits for anybody and I'm so far down the food chain...

Mention it in the poster :P

I'm thinking that I won't use any of it, there's absolutely no way in my business to get any sort of credit - I've never had it for myself... It was simply a question about the license - do I need to provide credit or not when using the assets, 

thanks all for your replies,

Chris

I'm not certain on this, but I'm pretty sure you only need to credit the Freedoom project, not necessarily its contributors.

I'm curious to know what you'll use and how, it never occurred to me that anyone would use video game assets in a live show. Do you mind showing us a video snippet of the event after it happens?

6 hours ago, Blastfrog said:

I'm not certain on this, but I'm pretty sure you only need to credit the Freedoom project, not necessarily its contributors.

Yeah, correct. I'm not really sure myself how best to reconcile it. I would suggest something like a small text at the bottom of the screen saying "Assets from and copyright Freedoom project" -- it only needs to be at the beginning or end if it's a long video. Small enough to be unobtrusive but enough to give credit.

On 11/08/2017 at 10:40 PM, Blastfrog said:

I'm not certain on this, but I'm pretty sure you only need to credit the Freedoom project, not necessarily its contributors.

 

I'm curious to know what you'll use and how, it never occurred to me that anyone would use video game assets in a live show. Do you mind showing us a video snippet of the event after it happens?

I might be able to but as is typical with my work I never get to see any of it :) The show is in Italy while I am in the UK so it's pretty likely that I won't be attending rehearsals - I'm the third link away from the production, me, my client, then the production...

On 12/08/2017 at 5:02 AM, chungy said:

Yeah, correct. I'm not really sure myself how best to reconcile it. I would suggest something like a small text at the bottom of the screen saying "Assets from and copyright Freedoom project" -- it only needs to be at the beginning or end if it's a long video. Small enough to be unobtrusive but enough to give credit.

Yeah, if the assets require credit, there's no way I'm risking using them, they'd be a small part of a part of a big show and to be fair an audience doesn't want to have their attention broken by on screen text reminding them who's made the carpets, walls, light fitting etc...

When you go to a play, you don't see people saying "the set was designed by them". It's just there. If they want to look up some info on said play, they can then find the proper credits in said info.

Why don't you do the same?

Because I am not any where near that level of production in the project - you will get a credit for instance as 'set designer' or 'writer' or 'make up artist' - my position is that of a supplier to a contractor (production company) who is working for the lighting director - that person (the lighting director) will be credited, it's unlikely but possible my client (the production company) may be mentioned but I definitely won't and neither would the source of my assets. Harsh I know but I'm well used to it having been in show business for many years - check out my showreel here... 

Just to be clear, I'd love to give credit for everything, the textures are lovely and pretty much perfect for my need - I'm only asking as I know what is actually possible...

Using Freedoom assets for something like this is quite different. Most of the time, people use them for some digital project, like new Doom WADs, new musical compositions, artwork for a game/program, new software, etc. In those cases, it's simply including the COPYING file and mentioning the Freedoom project in the credits (which is usually supplied by the developer anyway).

Want to give credit? Post a link to a video/webpage of said show, and explicitly state that you used Freedoom's resources here on Doomworld or on the show's website. If you wish to digitally distribute the show in any form, such as an MP4 file, then be sure to mention Freedoom/include the COPYING file in the distribution package.

In short, just do it. If you can find a way to mention Freedoom, then good. At least you asked for advice from the maintainers of Freedoom on the subject.

Thanks Voros, I'll have a think how to do it, but as I started my professional life as a texture artist (back in them 90s) I should just knuckle down and do the work myself - if I get stuck I'll come back... thanks once again to you and all here who responded!

Chris