Licensing? Asset creation and usage?

freekosuave_fb6e0b817e

I would like to know if there is somewhere that explains what I can and can not do as it pertains to using what I create in daz for the purposes of making a game?

Can I use the v4 figure, put clothing on it and use it in a real time 3d game?

Can I make the background environments and use those?

There are many more questions relating to this but I would like to know where I can find the answers to these questions if possible so that I can see for myself instead of asking about literally every little thing that I have available to me that I might end up using for the creation of assets.

Thank you to anyone who can point things out to me in advance.

SickleYield

They are in the EULA:

http://www.daz3d.com/eula

The short version is:

You can't use anything 3D from the store and re-release it in 3D regardless of the category.  You can either render 2D sprites (as for a phone game) and release those, or you have to buy a game license from the store.  There is a game license for Daz Originals and separate ones for separate published artists for re-releasing 3D assets.

Here is the Daz game license: http://www.daz3d.com/indie-game-developer-license

freekosuave_fb6e0b817e

Ok, so what takes precedence then if I were to make a 3d room using this particular product for example?

http://www.daz3d.com/room-creator-version-2

Would I still need the indie game license or do I not need a license since this is not covered under the daz originals aspect of things.

I would rather ask and have the answer be known to me than make an assumption which could get me in trouble down the road because I have done something that I should not do.

SickleYield

If there's no game license you can't re-release the 3D assets in a game.  I don't think maclean (the PA) offers one.

mjc1016

You wouldn't be able to...he doesn't offer a game dev license and since it isn't a Daz Original, it isn't covered by the Daz license, so it isn't usable.

freekosuave_fb6e0b817e

So would I need to obtain permission from the creator to use the item? Would this also apply to any non daz original item from the store? I know that I had made that particular item as an example, but lets say that I want to basically use item X and it is made by a non daz original artist. Does the same limitation apply?

For a secondary question, lets say that I make something simple in blender so that I can then create a scene with it in Daz (My ability to use blender is stil awful at best right now). Can I use Daz to create something and then import that thing I had made into blender? The only reason I would not just use blender the whole way is that I am simply not familiar enough with blender itself at this point to do some of the things that I would be able to easily do within Daz.

Sorry for all the questions, but like I had stated previously I want to assume nothing. I think it is safer to ask the question and definitively know the answer than make an assumption and end up being wrong.

mjc1016

If the creator of the item doesn't have a game license, then yes the restrictions apply.

Studio is not a model creation program...it is a posing, animating rendering program, so it's more likely to create something in Blender and port it to Studio than the other way around.

freekosuave_fb6e0b817e

Ok, so if I wanted to make a room to use in a 3d engine, I would be better off just creating it from scratch in blender instead of using anything "pre-made" that was available in the daz store then? Who knew making 3d walls would get me into trouble by using someone else's walls instead of going through the trouble of doing it myself.

nonesuch00

freekosuave_fb6e0b817e said:

Ok, so if I wanted to make a room to use in a 3d engine, I would be better off just creating it from scratch in blender instead of using anything "pre-made" that was available in the daz store then? Who knew making 3d walls would get me into trouble by using someone else's walls instead of going through the trouble of doing it myself.

For what you are wanting to do, it is much cheaper & easier to buy a product at Unity 3D asset store and texture it to your liking.

https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/search/page=1/sortby=relevance/query=room&creator

 

maclean

As I understand the situation, DAZ used to offer a games licence at 1.5 - 2 times the store price for each product. However, that appears to have been abandoned. The last time this question came up with one of my products, DAZ told me I should give permission to the customer privately (ie by PM) and that there was no fee involved.

Now I don't say this will apply to every item in the store or every PA. Some people's understanding may be different from mine. But as far as I'm concerned, if you want to use Room Creator in a game, PM me for permission and I'll grant it.

By the way, thanks for actually asking about this, rather than just going ahead and doing it without getting permission.

mac

nonesuch00

And you do need to ask. I've bought separate game licenses for some PA products while other PAs have let me use their products without an extra game license fee after I asked, and finally, some PAs say no to game licenses. Well, at least one has and I haven't asked that many PAs.

Also remember, if you are prototyping a game and it's a ways off from public release and no one will have access but you, then you are free to use any DAZ product in a game engine to prototype and develop your game. Just don't forget to buy or ask for a game license before you actually publish the game in public.

freekosuave_fb6e0b817e

Now does that apply to using the 3d content as 3d content only? Someone earlier had said that things are different if I use daz to make non 3d assets. Simply I guess that I am somewhat confused about it all and would like to have a clarification of some kind between one and the other?

How would that change if I made "sprites" or "backgrounds" instead of using a wholly 3D environment? Think in the vein of a resident evil 3 where the game was made with pre rendered backgrounds isntead of a wholly 3d realtime environment. I guess its just a matter of getting a definitive yes or no on doing certain things since I can potentially do things a few different ways at this point.

Better to know beforehand instead of having to scrap a whole month or two worth of programming and coding because I cannot do something that I thought I might be able to do one way or the other.

mjc1016

Rendered assets...sprites, backgrounds, etc are covered by the basic EULA...and are yours to do with what you want (sell, display, give away, etc).  This applies as long as it isn't just throwing the textures onto a plane and hitting render and calling that a 'print'...

The game developer licenses are specifcally to cover the use of the actual 3D mesh data in a redistributable format.   Basically they exist because of the higher risk of the asset being used in a way that can allow someone else to extract it and claim it as their own original work.

freekosuave_fb6e0b817e

Thank you for the clarification. So in short I would not need to get an indie game license if I went with sprites and pre-rendered backgrounds?

However if I did go with a realtime 3d rendered idea, I would need to get the license to release the proposed game in 3d? Also not only would I need to get the 3d daz license but I would need to get licensing or approval from anyone I used assets from (like maclean for example)?

Seems silly but mostly it would beat making everything in blender, that much is for sure.

PrincessLizAnne

Okay, I feel terribly stupid and confused and stupid. I'm thinking of making a game. The game will involve clicking buttons and stuff happens, very little animation. But I was thinking of using Daz3D to make character images and possibly animated cutscenes. From what I've read, the static images won't require licensing, but what about the cutscenes? I keep reading stuff about "sharing Meshes" and "full 3D data" and "real-time 3D" and it's all making my head spin. Don't want to hijack the thread, but it seemed the better option over posting a brand new thread for more-or-less the same topic.

kaz42

Cutscenes are fine too, because you're rendering out a video and putting the video into your game - no actual 3d models are going into your game.

Depending on the game you're going for, you can do some simple 3d-looking stuff that's actually done in 2d. For instance, render out an animation of your character doing a walk cycle to the left, no background so you have transparency. Repeat for walking right, forwards, backwards, and diagonals if your game supports that. Plug those into your game engine as sprite seqences. You're only using 2d assets. The original 3d models aren't going into the game at all, but you have your 3d character walking around in your game.

 

PrincessLizAnne

Thanks! :D

jhouston83_a1581f7a0f

Thanks to everyone for all the information. I have a question that was partially answered but would just like to be clear. Are the rules for promo images the same as with games? Meaning Daz and PA content can be used in Promo renders without permisions fron original artist? And would the apply to say online comics, free or for profit types? Thanks again.

Richard Haseltine

2D art created from 3D assets from the store does not - with a limited exception for the Ann Marie Goddard Digital Clone - require permission for any kind of use.