Earlier in the thread Soren said he would rather not be affected by the mod. What if you actually made DME portraits? What then? Probably be taking down the mod temporarily. This is also not including the fact that the other modders involved have not caught wind of this mod yet.
I did, and already removed those optional recommendations. No issues what-so-ever.
Im reluctant to address it, but it seems i should.
There is a reason why mods not including totally original art, dont ask for permission first. It has nothing to do with rudeness, but i'll let the less naiive figure out why.
(this is standard practice, sometimes people even post on alts for the same reason)
Considering Meso's popularity and his "little" tantrum, i doubt this is not the most infamous mod starsector ever had.
In fact, only one guy coming to white-knight him is surprising to me.
As given the choice of getting good-boy points with a popular modder, or taking part is an extremely derivative aesthetic mod, is a no brainer to me.
Although yeah, if he's using another modders work? I can see why those modders would be upset. I'm lazy though and so I haven't dug around in any files, I've just used the 0.9 version stock.
You are welcome to dig, and find out i in fact do not. Unless you count adding blue circles to SCY, but thats something general my mod does.
Technically it is (but is it?), its also optional and not included in the main mod anyway. Its just so if anyone wants to combine the mods, they can make it all fit in the stupid circle.
Its part of making mods compatible with each-other (which is standard practice).
What this is really about, is that i suggested people might want to change the portraits Meso made for a mod.
(Something i did unknowingly btw, as its hard for an outsider to keep track of who is credited where, as a bunch of people are just credited everywhere without stating what they actually did)
Similar to the original artwork of the game itself, i find it to be good work (but who am i to judge), but not my cup of aesthetic tea or how i want to experience starsector.
Problem is, Meso seems to have carved himself somewhat of a position as the official unofficial portrait maker.
My mod is messing with his usefulness to the community AND more importantly his E-Begging bottom line.
If the non-modders who won't mind.... never look. Then at the same time the modders with the the interest to look are unhappy. It's pretty much a win-win to remove those files.
That was my initial statement, as soon as i understood this is not common practice in this modding community.
(Again, providing optional files, is very common in other communities)
After a few conversations with people, i found out not all people like this clique of the "Vice squad" Meso seems to be the head of (as a moderator in an unofficial discord).
A clique sitting on the sidelines yelling "OP!, Derivative!, Not 100% Original Art!" while E-Begging and driving away "sub par", or things that just dont mash with "their" version of starsector.
Needless to say, this is cancerous behavior.
Yelling "Haram" or "DMCA" wont stop people wanting, or preferring not so original artwork in their mods.
(Especially since legality has nothing to do with it, unless you stream and then a bot might take you down. Not all people who play starsector stream. Its literally scare tactics.)
It already has driven off would be modders.
Lets face it, the standards of modding are set EXTREMELY high for this game. Some very talented people who have enough free time contributed and are contributing.
It is already very intimidating for most. The forum is a graveyard of half finished efforts by people discouraged by this reason alone.
But even "derivative" work like "Dassault-Mikoyan Engineering - Only RED!" Has a place. (Just a silly example, Soren might even approve)
Even a simple act as giving a ship a paint-job is potentially hard work, especially for someone who is new to modding/programming/drawing/java/photoshop/gimp or lack of free time, or even a language barrier.
Baby's first mod, is usually a barely functional ugly mess. Yet still, people who make stuff, usually end up improving, and might one day contribute something even the "Vice Squad" would consider "worthy". People do tend to hover towards original work eventually, as a sense of pride if nothing else.
Having to stay hidden and unpublished due to lack of acceptance by that clique seems to have harbored resentment.
So i was actually asked by people to make something of a stand against this. Force people to make a public stand, so to say.
Im enough of an outsider not to care where the wind blows, and this mod is very stupid, so imagine how people react to something more substantial.
Another example,
From what i understand there isn't an official set in stone lore (Since the main writer leftorsomesuch) there is a general guideline.
Yet things are labeled not "lore friendly" left and right, by lore specialists.
But most important,
What if someone would want to make a Warhammer mod? An EVE mod? Haven forbid a StarTreck mod!
As it stands even talks about doing something like that is immediately shot down (and these are huge projects in need of collaborations if they are to be done justice).
Not sure this is the right approach, this is literally what mods are for.
