Rules regarding distribution of MV "RTP"

[Parallax Panda]

I am sure this must have been mentioned somewhere by now, but I can not find it so I am going to go ahead and make this new topic in hopes to get this questionmark of mine straightened out sooner than later.

As RPG Maker MV was about to be released there were some talk going around that since MV don't have RTP the same way Ace, VX and XP had (where anyone could download and install it on their computer), there might be different rules involved when sharing those "RTP" resources this time around.

Now, I have noticed that there are a lot of edits being posted on this forum so I am going to assume this is "OK" (Although I would like this clarified)? Also what about uploading the resources and / or edits on other websites? Of course those who do not own the software do not have the rights to use the material. That goes without saying, but do I as a customer, have the permission to share and display these assets online?

Just in case it depends on the context I'll give a few examples...

What about uploading vanilla (unedited) tilesets to other RPG maker forums / Tumblr / Deviantart / Blog / Instagram / Twitter / A crowdfunding campaign, or anywhere else on the web basically? Is this piracy?
What about uploading barely noticable edits (tiles re-aranged to fit the walls etc), that stil look very vanilla through the above mentioned channels?
And lastly, what about uploding "proper" edits through any of the above mentioned channels?

I just want to know the nitty-gritty of what I can and can not do for future reference so if there is a grey area please be specific.
Thanks in advance to anyone with an answer.

 

[Lunarea]

Official Answer:

The permission we have is for RPG Maker MV owners to share edits with other RPG Maker owners. Obviously, there's no super secret place where only RM owners have access, so some sharing is acceptable across the 'net, provided that the material has proper credits and TOS and that the OP has made it clear that the material is for RM-MV use only. But you'll want to tread carefully.

What about uploading vanilla (unedited) tilesets to other RPG maker forums / Tumblr / Deviantart / Blog / Instagram / Twitter / A crowdfunding campaign, or anywhere else on the web basically? Is this piracy?

No, don't do that.

The only people who would need to download such a set are people who don't own RPG Maker MV -- in which case, you are facilitating piracy of the materials.

What about uploading barely noticable edits (tiles re-aranged to fit the walls etc), that stil look very vanilla through the above mentioned channels?

Also, no.

This is basically trying to bend the sharing-edits-is-allowed rule into something that facilitates piracy.

And lastly, what about uploding "proper" edits through any of the above mentioned channels?

As mentioned above, some sharing is acceptable. But do note that the conditions are limited and could change. EB could decide tomorrow that they don't want the edits shared on DA for example, and you'd end up having to take your material down. If you want to be absolutely safe and with the least amount of work/fuss, post your edits on the official forums (here) and link to the thread on various other social media channels. You can, for example, post a preview/screenshot/etc and a link to your thread here.

Hope that helps.

 

[GrandmaDeb]

Official Answer:


As mentioned above, some sharing is acceptable. But do note that the conditions are limited and could change. EB could decide tomorrow that they don't want the edits shared on DA for example, and you'd end up having to take your material down. If you want to be absolutely safe and with the least amount of work/fuss, post your edits on the official forums (here) and link to the thread on various other social media channels. You can, for example, post a preview/screenshot/etc and a link to your thread here.


Hope that helps.

It does help, but the bolded part is a bit off-putting.


Can you give an example of the kind of language such a restriction might have, or elaborate a bit about possible implications of such a decision?


(One thing to consider is that MV has a trial version and materials are pretty available there.)

 

[Parallax Panda]

Thank you. It is as I suspected, but better safe than sorry.

Personally, I was mostly interested in posting edits on other rpg maker forums as well (and maybe dA), but I thought it would be best to ask about everything in case someone else wanted to know.

I'll add a trick question (even though reading the above statement it seems like a "no!".

As of this moment I am doing edits of complete tilesheets. Most of everything would fall into the category of "proper edits" I can assure you but there are one or possibly two tiles on that sheet that I like the way they are and rather wouldn't touch. Except maybe shift Y position to line up with the walls. If I want to share them I have to delete those two vanilla tiles from the set, right?

 

[Lunarea]

Can you give an example of the kind of language such a restriction might have, or elaborate a bit about possible implications of such a decision?

It as to do with the way certain licensing laws in Japan would interact with the rest of the world. For example, the introduction of Youtube Red made quite a few of pieces of music from Japan disappear from YT for the US viewers due to the way copyright works.

I can't tell how likely (or unlikely) it is that a situation like this would arise with social media or other websites, but it does create a possible precedent and it might create a situation where EB would restrict use of their material further. So, for anyone that wants to be super safe, I strongly encourage sharing via official channels as much as possible -- both to reach a wide audience and to make sure you're up to date with information.

(One thing to consider is that MV has a trial version and materials are pretty available there.)

The big difference is that the trial does come with TOS and the person can't say "they didn't know" they couldn't use the material outside RM. Having a big download makes it more difficult to track the material's author(s), and we end up with the situation where some developer who's never used RM uses it because random internet person gave them permission.

We're not out to squelch any sharing whatsoever, but simply to remind people where the material is from and what it can be used for -- especially when it comes to users who are not familiar with RPG Maker.

If I want to share them I have to delete those two vanilla tiles from the set, right?

If it's small pieces and it's not used to circumvent any other rules, it should be alright.

 

[Parallax Panda]

Ok, I think that is enough information on this matter so I am going to go ahead and mark this as solved. Thank you.

 

[KisaiTenshi]

I'm going to nitpick something because it's sometimes difficult to tell if something came from an RPG Maker or was lifted from an Commercial game.

I was watching someone play Lufia II (SNES), and I noticed quite a few tiles look exactly the same as tiles found in MV (yes even though SNES tiles are 16x16.) It could be a coincidence, but anyone who grabs a "free tileset" from some place, should be wary that if it looks familiar, you will get called on it.