What Games/Places We Can Use Assets From and What We Can't

Started by Giftheck, July 16, 2017, 01:18:00 PM

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So, a little something about EA's Star Wars games has come to light, thanks to Teancum.

When you agree to the EULAs in the game, they have the EA EULA, but they also carry the Disney EULA. So, as it stands the EA EULAs only specifically refer to their own propietary stuff (IE it forbids you from reverse-engineering the Frostbite engine or modding their games). But technically using content from those games falls under the Disney license.

Now, what does this mean? Can you use things from EA's games now? Well...

My personal advice is to take a 'only what you need' approach. At this point, practically everything has some sort of community alternative, particularly with regards to player models, weapons, vehicles etc. But I also feel it is important to delve into the games themselves to explain things a bit more.

First off, the Battlefront games. I would certainly not advise using any models from there if you can avoid it, for the simple fact that they are high-poly. On top of that, regarding maps, maps are designed in a modular manner and are broken up into hundreds of pieces. You would be in for a world of pain trying to assemble maps from that. Sounds... they're okay, but the game uses multiple samples for each thing. So, say you want the T-21 sound effect. There's about 6 different samples. Pick one and use that one. You do not need all six.

Galaxy of Heroes is a bit different in that it's a mobile game with relatively low-poly models. Should you go porting everything? No, again, if you want something, take just what you need. Maps in that game are a single model but bear in mind they're also not designed for being walked through - just for being seen from certain angles.

Jedi Fallen Order would be much like the Battlefront games - everything is too high poly to be useful anyway, and the levels are modular in design.

Now, whether this will be integrated into the rules isn't up to me, but this post should serve to answer a few questions about EA's Star Wars content.

TL;DR: Star Wars content in the games is covered by the Disney EULA, everything else (engines, code, scripts) is propietary and you should steer clear of trying to reverse-engineer them.
In Progress:
--Star Wars: Battlefront - Anniversary Edition (formerly Star Wars: Battlefront - Legacy Edition)

On Hold:
--Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron For SWBF1
--Endor: Imperial Base