User blog:Saratje/IMPORTANT : Warning to MOD (modificaton) making + Dawnguard.



With the release of Dawnguard, there is a lot of new material that comes with the Dawnguard DLC which mod-makers love to get their hands on. Dawnguard Armor, Vampire Armor, a whole new set of Dragonbone weapons: it's lovely to tinker with, to modify and re-release as a new creation for players to use. However, BE WARNED.

There is a tiny (and for many people not obvious) legal aspect that can get you into serious trouble, as a mod-maker, with Steam, Bethesda and modding communities such as Nexus. Perma-bans by these services are not unimaginable as a result. Here is the catch:


 * When you access one of the meshes, textures or any kind of content that comes with Dawnguard, you are working with DLC exclusive material. This encompasses everything that you only get when you pay $20 for the Dawnguard DLC. At the very moment that you release this modified content as a mod, you are effectively giving everyone that owns Skyrim access to content that only comes with Dawnguard. Bethesda and Steam do not like this, because they want people to ofcourse pay for that content (and that is their right). 

For example, let's say you modify the Dawnguard Heavy Armor by adding in a cape. When you release this armor mod, anyone who owns Skyrim without Dawnguard can remove the cape and play with the original Dawnguard armor without paying for it. From a legal perspective, this is the same as pirating and releasing (part of) a game: something which can get your access to Steam removed, or in the worst case a company can accuse you of internet piracy and press charges against you. This can ultimately lead to a hefty financial fine or in extreme cases, jailtime.

Why do I write this? Because a lot of people lack the knowledge and insight about the fact that releasing any kind of exclusive content to the public is a violation of the law. While such mistakes often end with just a warning, or get overlooked, some people may get banned or worse in the process, only to realize about their mistake far too late. Hopefully, some of these mistakes can be prevented by this blog post.