Take-Two vs The GTA Modding Community, 2021 E&E Edition

[Americana]

Dude, when I've seen someone selling a car mod for money I realized that these modders are f*cked in the head. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Americana

[GTA Plus Enjoyer]

22 hours ago, D T said:

The OpenIV team, VCS:PC team, and IV:SA team could've made thousands back in the day for their efforts, but instead they chose to let people enjoy their work for free. The more rampant these Patreon gougers become, the more likely it is the modding scene will stay in the crosshairs. Instead of improving the shortcomings of these games, gen-z modders have weaponized these flaws out of greed. You even got people selling reshade presets now.

 

I agree with everything you said, I loathe people who lock mods behind a Patreon. Not only does it attract the wrong kind of attention from publishers, but it also disables a sh*tton of people from ever experiencing those mods. Lots of people don't have access to payment methods necessary to pay on Patreon, and lots of people can't even afford to pay for a mod.

 

I feel bad for the teams that made some cool mods, such as GTA Underground. Imagine spending years working on a mod that took an entire team to make, only for it to be taken down in the end. Meanwhile some dude who spent a bit of time configuring a ReShade preset still makes thousands per month.

 

2 hours ago, Americana said:

Dude, when I've seen someone selling a car mod for money I realized that these modders are f*cked in the head. 

 

I'll never get this. Why would someone buy a car mod? There are a sh*tton of car mods for GTA games, at this point it's harder to find a car that HASN'T been modded into a GTA game. Are people actually so lazy that they'd rather pay for a a car mod, instead of taking an extra minute or two to google it and find the exact same car mod for free?

[Ivan1997GTA]

5 hours ago, Americana said:

Dude, when I've seen someone selling a car mod for money I realized that these modders are f*cked in the head. 

Next thing you know, they're gonna start sellings mods as NFTs.

[Americana]

Every car you buy will come with a special NFT licence plate. 

[FrankHessen]

On 8/6/2022 at 1:03 AM, D T said:

I feel zero remorse for anybody leeching cash from this community, especially when older modding projects with just as much effort have been distributed for free over the years. It's a huge slap in the face to the very people who tirelessly built the foundation for such things to exist. The OpenIV team, VCS:PC team, and IV:SA team could've made thousands back in the day for their efforts, but instead they chose to let people enjoy their work for free. The more rampant these Patreon gougers become, the more likely it is the modding scene will stay in the crosshairs. Instead of improving the shortcomings of these games, gen-z modders have weaponized these flaws out of greed. You even got people selling reshade presets now. Over the coming years, I very much doubt publishers are going to sit back and watch Patreon syphon revenue from potential remasters, especially with Take-Two now having set a precedent. A decade from now NaturalVision Evolved and FiveM will be looked back on as the worst things to happen to this series. Quote me on that dudes. At this point, I can't wait for GTA VI to come out and put these Patreon Andys out of commission.

Bit of a difference but surprisingly there have been emulators for recent game consoles that accept public donations and despite companies like Nintendo and Sony having had mixed attitudes towards projects of the community there have been no lawsuits or take-downs.

 

Goes without saying when money does get involved with copyrighted content and mods things can get potentially sticky.

 

Perhaps use those skills used to make mods to work on other projects with less of a copyright risk for money ;-)

[DodgeSomrs]

On 8/6/2022 at 4:47 PM, GTA Plus Enjoyer said:

I feel bad for the teams that made some cool mods, such as GTA Underground.

Yeah, and the Chicago-based Midway would've been sick. Now, it stays unfinished forever. If UG wasn't taken down, then we would've gotten a full Midway, or even a new city based in Milwaukee or Seattle.

 

I still play GTA Underground. I prefer this over GTA Mixed. GTA Mixed has LC and VC very close to SA, and each city doesn't have the respective color filters from the original games. UG has LC/VC color filters, making that you're playing GTA 3 while driving in LC but in SA engine. I managed to decrypt the gta3.img file (which is empty of course, since most of the game files are now in different encrypted IMG files) and add cars in the game, which are mostly SA style lore-friendly car mods.

On 8/6/2022 at 2:44 PM, Americana said:

Dude, when I've seen someone selling a car mod for money I realized that these modders are f*cked in the head. 

Really f*cked in the head. Dunno why modders would want money over a car mod? It's like buying an NFT lol.

 

It's a good thing that in SA, there are workshops that make SA style car mods. I loved adding those in the game. It's like GTA Online DLC but made by modders. And for free. I wished that I could make an SA style car mod, but it's too complicated to use either Blender or zModeler to create 3D model cars.

[DodgeSomrs]

On 8/5/2022 at 6:03 PM, D T said:

The OpenIV team, VCS:PC team, and IV:SA team could've made thousands back in the day for their efforts, but instead they chose to let people enjoy their work for free.

Yeah, only if Ryadica made the latest versions of re:LCS downloadable for everyone instead of locking it on a f*cking paywall. I mean, he doesn't own everything in that mod. He only ported the entirety of LCS to VC and turn it into a different game. Why hide it on a paywall? I guess most modders nowadays feel like that their efforts are wasted unless if they are given money. It's a good thing dkluin made UG free. That's a true modder there. Ryadica is also great because he did the impossible; porting LCS to PC and make it playable for everyone but hiding it on a Patreon paywall is definitely an L move there.

 

If I could make the entirety of the borough of Manhattan for a GTA or BeamNG mod, I wanted it to be accessible for everyone, and that means, it's for free. I wanted people to see what it looks like to drive in Manhattan on a video game. Hell, even a variation of Manhattan with the Twin Towers on them, aka Manhattan 9/10, which is a version of what Manhattan looked like before 9/11.

Edited August 9, 2022 by DodgeSomrs

[arisfelbonilla]

3 hours ago, DodgeSomrs said:

Yeah, only if Ryadica made the latest versions of re:LCS downloadable for everyone instead of locking it on a f*cking paywall. I mean, he doesn't own everything in that mod. He only ported the entirety of LCS to VC and turn it into a different game. Why hide it on a paywall? I guess most modders nowadays feel like that their efforts are wasted unless if they are given money. It's a good thing dkluin made UG free. That's a true modder there. Ryadica is also great because he did the impossible; porting LCS to PC and make it playable for everyone but hiding it on a Patreon paywall is definitely an L move there.

knowing that if you try to make a paid mod in a gta they would be in the sights of T2 knowing that they are the owners of said franchise

I wouldn't be embarrassed knowing that they are entering deep waters and looking for it

Edited August 9, 2022 by arisfelbonilla

[Tez2]

On 8/6/2022 at 4:03 AM, D T said:

A decade from now NaturalVision Evolved and FiveM will be looked back on as the worst things to happen to this series. Quote me on that dudes. At this point, I can't wait for GTA VI to come out and put these Patreon Andys out of commission.

You mean Take-Two who were completely against FiveM in the past, but were suddenly cool with the mod once they realized how much interest and free marketing the role-playing community is offering them?

 

The signs are pointing towards the opposite of what you're suggesting. There's always a chance Take-Two might monetize the role-playing community for VI.

Edited August 12, 2022 by Tez2

[Heiks]

The real key for Take2 would be giving away more of the content creation to actual players and monetizing it like Roblox or Minecraft:

 

1. Give / creative tools / world rule modifications / 24/7 live server / for a subscription fee like GTA+ - you'll have options for creators/sellers

2. Make a market place for / different live worlds / visuals / approved modifications / and let the creators sell their content for a shared fee - you'll have buyers

3. Sell Sharkcards - you are the bank

4. Do nothing and raise fees - you'll have GTA:unlimited

[Americana]

7 hours ago, Tez2 said:

There's always a chance Take-Two might monetize the role-playing community for VI.

 

I wouldn't mind an online Grand Theft Auto game based on roleplaying, to be honest.

[boomboom5950]

10 hours ago, Tez2 said:

There's always a chance Take-Two might monetize the role-playing community for VI.

This is a no brainer for Rockstar and Take Two, I can totally see Rockstar designing some internal code to prevent something like FiveM from happening via modders (i think i remember hearing something similar to this for RDR2 if im not mistaken) so that they can close in and create something similar from their controlled platform and likely charge for it. And i doubt with rockstar themselves being in charge of it or the gatekeepers, i doubt it will be anywhere near as popular as FiveM at any point. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by boomboom5950

[olzhas1one]

I remember hearing somewhere that the re3/reVC team was actually gonna try to go to court against the TakeTwo takedowns. Is this true? If it is, any news on it?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, olzhas1one said:

I remember hearing somewhere that the re3/reVC team was actually gonna try to go to court against the TakeTwo takedowns. Is this true? If it is, any news on it?

IIRC they said they would file a counter-claim and explain that it's all for fair use and the project requires purchased copies of the games in order to run. I think they've already done that by now.

Edited August 11, 2022 by H-G

[Lock n' Stock]

3 hours ago, H-G said:

IIRC they said they would file a counter-claim and explain that it's all for fair use and the project requires purchased copies of the games in order to run. I think they've already done that by now.

I really, REALLY hope it works. Nothing would please me more than to see those worthless pieces of sh*t be forced to back-off when they realise they don't have a case.

[olzhas1one]

7 hours ago, Lock n' Stock said:

I really, REALLY hope it works. Nothing would please me more than to see those worthless pieces of sh*t be forced to back-off when they realise they don't have a case.

I think they do have a fair chance at winning it. An EULA may look menacing, but in reality it's not enforcable as a law. Not gonna claim I'm an expert on this issue but I do understand enough to make some "educated guesses".
We know they didn't distribute the code with the copyrighted game data (models, textures, music, voice-acting etc.), nor did they use illegaly leaked code (something which TakeTwo would actually have geniune cause to ask for a cease and desist since they do own that code). As far as I know, this code only uses the debug variables from the PS2 executable, which aside from that makes it completely original code. I'd say it's pretty easy to convince a judge that this stuff is fine, and I wanna remain hopeful that TakeTwo will back off, since the Definitive Edition thankfully failed, so they have nothing to gain anymore to pursue legal action against them anymore. So we do have reasons to be hopeful.

[FrankHessen]

19 hours ago, olzhas1one said:

I remember hearing somewhere that the re3/reVC team was actually gonna try to go to court against the TakeTwo takedowns. Is this true? If it is, any news on it?

Case appears to have had pre-trial mediation fall through and there have been no public updates in months.

[VCPR]

R* being scummy again, that's what

Mike Dailly™ on Twitter: "I see Rockstar are going full f*ckers mode again, issuing copyright strikes to any GTA video they can find - including both my prototype videos. So now they're trying to block all release of anyone's work on a game - and any old development footage." / Twitter (archive.ph)

[Guest]

2 hours ago, TheGodDamnMasterReturns said:

 

"We will do what we want and we will get away with it."

 

People will forget about this and go back to simping when they finally reveal 6.

 

 

...Mang, these modern-day consoomers just trust R* so blindly in their own ridiculous sense and views (do they even have that? lol) that they'd even let R*... have their mothers all because "r* cAn dO nO wRoNg\r* aLwAyS dElIvErS". Sheesh.

Edited August 21, 2022 by H-G

[videotechuk_]

 

[universetwisters]

Idk if this was the right thread to post this in or nah. I'm surprised that the GTA 2 GDD was even released to begin with, I only remember 1 and 3's 

 

[Guest]

Just now, universetwisters said:

Idk if this was the right thread to post this in or nah. I'm surprised that the GTA 2 GDD was even released to begin with, I only remember 1 and 3's 

 

Whoa, didn't expect this to escalate pretty quickly.

 

Also yeah, WTF is this? Mofos went and nailed the dude who laid foundations for what R* and T2 are basically raking billions off now.

[universetwisters]

16 minutes ago, H-G said:

Whoa, didn't expect this to escalate pretty quickly.

 

Also yeah, WTF is this? Mofos went and nailed the dude who laid foundations for what R* and T2 are basically raking billions off now.

 

I mean tbf you could say that GTA 3 was where GTA really got off the ground and the original guys weren't a part of the company then but still

 

also I'd be a liar if I said now I don't have the GTA 2 GDD and I'd be a meanie if I didn't send it to people who hit up my DMs 

[OOI]

3 hours ago, VCPR said:

R* being scummy again, that's what

Mike Dailly™ on Twitter: "I see Rockstar are going full f*ckers mode again, issuing copyright strikes to any GTA video they can find - including both my prototype videos. So now they're trying to block all release of anyone's work on a game - and any old development footage." / Twitter (archive.ph)

53 minutes ago, videotech_ said:

 

 

UPDATE: I have it! Thank you stranger.

 

Link to the doc please.  DM me.

Should've downloaded when I had the chance.

Edited August 21, 2022 by OOI

[Len Lfc]

10 minutes ago, OOI said:

 

 

Link to the doc please.  DM me.

Should've downloaded when I had the chance.

The GTA 2 design doc?

[Tez2]

More surprised who ever issued out the copyright strike is working on a Sunday. The design document was up since Tuesday. Unless this was automated.

[Jason]

With no disrespect intended to the guys and girls from back then, the 2D era GTA's are classic games but the 3D era GTA's which started with the Houser's and co are what really laid the foundations for the series and R*'s mega success, so I find that angle being used here a bit pointless.

 

But anyway, it is sh*tty to see them pull this stuff down considering how long ago the stuff is from, I don't think there's any harm in it my self but posting copyrighted stuff publicly without permission (if that is what happened) is always going to be iffy.

[OOI]

9 minutes ago, Len Lfc said:

The GTA 2 design doc?

I have it. Thank you anyway.

[The-Ghost]

34 minutes ago, Jason said:

With no disrespect intended to the guys and girls from back then, the 2D era GTA's are classic games but the 3D era GTA's which started with the Houser's and co are what really laid the foundations for the series and R*'s mega success, so I find that angle being used here a bit pointless.

 

This is true but it also makes what they have done today even worse, like why? it's so pointless and stupid, I know it's copyright laws or whatever, but it's so unnecessary.

 

My theory is that if this dev had some form of relations with Rockstar they would have probably contacted him privately and kept things on good intentions, still doesn't justify this stupidity they've pulled.

[Emmi]

Maybe GSG is working on GTA 1 and 2 'remakes' and a reveal is imminent and that's why they are taking this down.

 

Spoiler

lmao