The Live for Speed mods system, what is allowed, what is not allowed and what we hope to see
The mods system has now been public for 10 months and has opened up a huge range of possibilities in Live for Speed. Many excellent mods have been made and the results have been enjoyed by a lot of people.
On the positive side, some people have built models in the LFS editor, others have created them in advanced software such as Blender and exported them to be completed in LFS. Some people have found models on the internet, created by artists who have given permission to other people to use them. A lot of great mods have been uploaded.
On the negative side, some people have come across models on the internet that were taken from other games and uploaded, giving 'permission' for others to use those models, although the uploader had no right to give that permission. Worse, some users have extracted models directly from other games and claimed them as original work. Controversially, some people have taken models from other games and traced them in 3 dimensions, in a process that has been called 'retopology'. The idea was to claim that their new mesh is entirely their own work, because they did in fact build every point and polygon. In a fraudulent version of this, some people have imported models from other games, edited them a little and called the result a retopology.
The negatives listed above have become a serious problem because they have created a lot of work for our volunteer reviewers, leading to long delays publishing mods created by users who are using the system as intended. We do not charge a subscription for use of the mods system after the initial S3 license payment. It is not possible for us to pay a team of reviewers to perform detailed checks on all the mods submitted.
We rely on community members to be diligent and work with us, within the rules. Some members have defied the rules or tried to use loopholes to get around them. This is not sustainable. We have a fully integrated mods system. Vehicles are hosted on and distributed by our own web servers. For this reason mods must be fully legal, from legitimate sources and not from other games unless specific permission has been given.
What is allowed
The following types of mod are allowed, if created by the mod uploader or with LEGITIMATE permission or license from the original creator.
1) Fully original creations. Possibly inspired by multiple real vehicles or a class of vehicles.
2) Vehicles inspired by only one real vehicle and closely following the original design. Such mods do not have any affiliation with the manufacturer and therefore cannot use real names or logos. The inspiring vehicle must be declared in the "intellectual property" declaration, so that mod creators are open about the inspiration and credit the original designer. These mods are regarded as tributes to the original vehicle, portraying the real vehicle in a good light. If the original manufacturer ever expresses a problem with such a lookalike mod, it will be removed very quickly. Indeed we may remove any model at any time.
3) Detailed replica of a real vehicle, WITH PERMISSION from the manufacturer. This is a very rare case, and would require written documentation to be allowed on our system. In that case the real vehicle name and logos can be used.
NOTE: A serious problem is often encountered with (2) above (vehicles inspired by one real vehicle). Many, if not most, of the good looking models of real cars found on file sharing sites have been ripped from other racing games or simulations. These models MAY NOT be used in Live for Speed, regardless of the usage license displayed on the file sharing site. We understand that people may be tempted to use a model that is freely available to download, but even if they work on it for many hours, preparing it for use in Live for Speed, we cannot accept the mod. It is up to you to be absolutely certain that the person who uploaded the source model has the right to give you permission to use it. If in any doubt YOU MUST NOT try to upload such a model to our system. This has stalled the reviewing process on several occasions, as our volunteer reviewers have not been able to keep up.
What is not allowed
1) Models extracted (ripped) from another game or simulator. This is a breach of the software license of the original game. Another developer acquired the license and paid for the development of that model, to be used in their game. It is unlikely they want to see it driving around in another game. You are welcome to ask the developer's permission if you would like to use their model, but we don't think this will often be granted. We don't want their models on our system either, so please do not submit them.
2) Models downloaded from the internet that have originally been taken from another game or simulator, even if that was done by someone else. How can you know if a model you find is actually legitimate and has not come from another game? The answer: If you don't know for sure, then don't use it. Many of the high quality cars HAVE come from another game, and the person who uploaded it is falsely claiming it as a model they made. In these cases, they do not have the right to allow you to use the model.
3) Models traced in 3 dimensions from a model extracted from another game. This 'retopology' has sometimes been seen as a loophole that allowed people to submit 'original work' as they actually built every vertex and triangle, using the original model as a guide. But it is not actually all their own work, as it is based on the 3 dimensional likeness of a vehicle, ripped from another game. Obviously they would have found it far more difficult without using the ripped model as a guide. The source model contains a lot of development work by the original game developer, which is incorporated into the new 'retopology' model, even if all the vertices and triangles are new. We cannot accept these retopology models.
4) Any other use of models or images extracted from another game to help in building a mod. No part of your mod creation process can involve using another game's content in defiance of the license agreement for that game.
NOTE: People who are found to submit a mod that is not within the rules may receive a temporary ban from submitting mods. Longer temporary bans may be given if they do it again. Permanent bans are also possible for repeated deliberate rule breaking or worse offences.
What we hope to see
We hope that mod creators will only create original models or use models or sources that are confirmed to be legal. This legal confirmation is the duty of the submitter, not the reviewer.
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to create a development thread for your mod, including plenty of information as early as possible in the development process, until the time the mod is submitted to be published. Community members may give a lot of support and sometimes suggestions in the early stages. Development threads can help our reviewers to see instantly that the mod is genuine and legitimate.
Forum section: Vehicle Mods - Work in Progress
A list of valid sources, websites where you may find some acceptable sources and sites which are not acceptable sources:
Forum thread: Model sources - which are OK t ... nd which are not accepted
If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a source model, please discuss it on the forum, where people may well be able to help.
Forum section: Vehicle Mods Forum
The mods system is all about creativity and fun. Please do everything you can to help the reviewers and make it easy for them. Please help review the mods that are waiting to be published. You can express support for new mods and help check if they are legal if you wish. You can also make comments or suggestions to improve the new mods.
Forum section: Vehicle Mod Reviews (S3 licensed users only)
If you submit a mod, you must follow the rules outlined on this page:
Web page: Vehicle Mod Submission Guidelines
The mods system has now been public for 10 months and has opened up a huge range of possibilities in Live for Speed. Many excellent mods have been made and the results have been enjoyed by a lot of people.
On the positive side, some people have built models in the LFS editor, others have created them in advanced software such as Blender and exported them to be completed in LFS. Some people have found models on the internet, created by artists who have given permission to other people to use them. A lot of great mods have been uploaded.
On the negative side, some people have come across models on the internet that were taken from other games and uploaded, giving 'permission' for others to use those models, although the uploader had no right to give that permission. Worse, some users have extracted models directly from other games and claimed them as original work. Controversially, some people have taken models from other games and traced them in 3 dimensions, in a process that has been called 'retopology'. The idea was to claim that their new mesh is entirely their own work, because they did in fact build every point and polygon. In a fraudulent version of this, some people have imported models from other games, edited them a little and called the result a retopology.
The negatives listed above have become a serious problem because they have created a lot of work for our volunteer reviewers, leading to long delays publishing mods created by users who are using the system as intended. We do not charge a subscription for use of the mods system after the initial S3 license payment. It is not possible for us to pay a team of reviewers to perform detailed checks on all the mods submitted.
We rely on community members to be diligent and work with us, within the rules. Some members have defied the rules or tried to use loopholes to get around them. This is not sustainable. We have a fully integrated mods system. Vehicles are hosted on and distributed by our own web servers. For this reason mods must be fully legal, from legitimate sources and not from other games unless specific permission has been given.
What is allowed
The following types of mod are allowed, if created by the mod uploader or with LEGITIMATE permission or license from the original creator.
1) Fully original creations. Possibly inspired by multiple real vehicles or a class of vehicles.
2) Vehicles inspired by only one real vehicle and closely following the original design. Such mods do not have any affiliation with the manufacturer and therefore cannot use real names or logos. The inspiring vehicle must be declared in the "intellectual property" declaration, so that mod creators are open about the inspiration and credit the original designer. These mods are regarded as tributes to the original vehicle, portraying the real vehicle in a good light. If the original manufacturer ever expresses a problem with such a lookalike mod, it will be removed very quickly. Indeed we may remove any model at any time.
3) Detailed replica of a real vehicle, WITH PERMISSION from the manufacturer. This is a very rare case, and would require written documentation to be allowed on our system. In that case the real vehicle name and logos can be used.
NOTE: A serious problem is often encountered with (2) above (vehicles inspired by one real vehicle). Many, if not most, of the good looking models of real cars found on file sharing sites have been ripped from other racing games or simulations. These models MAY NOT be used in Live for Speed, regardless of the usage license displayed on the file sharing site. We understand that people may be tempted to use a model that is freely available to download, but even if they work on it for many hours, preparing it for use in Live for Speed, we cannot accept the mod. It is up to you to be absolutely certain that the person who uploaded the source model has the right to give you permission to use it. If in any doubt YOU MUST NOT try to upload such a model to our system. This has stalled the reviewing process on several occasions, as our volunteer reviewers have not been able to keep up.
What is not allowed
1) Models extracted (ripped) from another game or simulator. This is a breach of the software license of the original game. Another developer acquired the license and paid for the development of that model, to be used in their game. It is unlikely they want to see it driving around in another game. You are welcome to ask the developer's permission if you would like to use their model, but we don't think this will often be granted. We don't want their models on our system either, so please do not submit them.
2) Models downloaded from the internet that have originally been taken from another game or simulator, even if that was done by someone else. How can you know if a model you find is actually legitimate and has not come from another game? The answer: If you don't know for sure, then don't use it. Many of the high quality cars HAVE come from another game, and the person who uploaded it is falsely claiming it as a model they made. In these cases, they do not have the right to allow you to use the model.
3) Models traced in 3 dimensions from a model extracted from another game. This 'retopology' has sometimes been seen as a loophole that allowed people to submit 'original work' as they actually built every vertex and triangle, using the original model as a guide. But it is not actually all their own work, as it is based on the 3 dimensional likeness of a vehicle, ripped from another game. Obviously they would have found it far more difficult without using the ripped model as a guide. The source model contains a lot of development work by the original game developer, which is incorporated into the new 'retopology' model, even if all the vertices and triangles are new. We cannot accept these retopology models.
4) Any other use of models or images extracted from another game to help in building a mod. No part of your mod creation process can involve using another game's content in defiance of the license agreement for that game.
NOTE: People who are found to submit a mod that is not within the rules may receive a temporary ban from submitting mods. Longer temporary bans may be given if they do it again. Permanent bans are also possible for repeated deliberate rule breaking or worse offences.
What we hope to see
We hope that mod creators will only create original models or use models or sources that are confirmed to be legal. This legal confirmation is the duty of the submitter, not the reviewer.
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to create a development thread for your mod, including plenty of information as early as possible in the development process, until the time the mod is submitted to be published. Community members may give a lot of support and sometimes suggestions in the early stages. Development threads can help our reviewers to see instantly that the mod is genuine and legitimate.
Forum section: Vehicle Mods - Work in Progress
A list of valid sources, websites where you may find some acceptable sources and sites which are not acceptable sources:
Forum thread: Model sources - which are OK t ... nd which are not accepted
If you are unsure about the legitimacy of a source model, please discuss it on the forum, where people may well be able to help.
Forum section: Vehicle Mods Forum
The mods system is all about creativity and fun. Please do everything you can to help the reviewers and make it easy for them. Please help review the mods that are waiting to be published. You can express support for new mods and help check if they are legal if you wish. You can also make comments or suggestions to improve the new mods.
Forum section: Vehicle Mod Reviews (S3 licensed users only)
If you submit a mod, you must follow the rules outlined on this page:
Web page: Vehicle Mod Submission Guidelines