What are the Terms of Use for this product and why can't I find them on the webpage?

[Mouser]

Before I look at features, pretty pictures, or anything else I need to know what the terms of use are for the software (RPG Maker) and for software created with it.

Look at any other game engine/development tool website: Unreal (Indie version), C4, Ogre, Torque, Realmcrafter, etc... They all either have the terms prominently featured on the homepage, or at least not hard to find. I can't find them on this website anywhere, even after clicking the little links on the bottom. I have no way of knowing whether to spend my time looking at feature sets or anything else about the product until I have a clear picture of what the legal requirements and conditions for it's use are.

Somebody please help me out here - this looks good at first glance, and I've seen games for sale created with it, which is a plus, but without that basic information there's no point in looking any further.

 

[Todd]

Free for non-commercial and commercial use.

http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/support/comparison

 

[Mouser]

"You can sell your games" doesn't really specify much.

Is the licensing per seat or per user?

Is there a revenue cap for companies using this product? Is there a separate license in that case?

Is there a royalty or other payback system.?

Is there a limit to how many games can be sold without needing additional licenses?

Is the complete source code for the game engine provided? Can it be modified?

Are there logo or other 'splash screen' requirements? (not as important as the others, but still part of the license agreement)

Those are off the top of my head. There are others if I think about it.

This is basic stuff, these questions should be answered clearly, up front.

 

[Todd]

1.Not sure

2.No

3.No

4.No

5.Yes

6. I don't think so.

 

[Solistra]

5.Yes

The complete source code is not provided; there are still a number of hidden classes that are hidden from the designer and are known only to the creators of the program. Likewise, the source to the Ace editor itself is completely closed. While a great deal of the scripts used to create a game are open and viewable in Ace, there's still an awful lot that is simply out of reach for the most part to developers using it.

Honestly, though, there's little that isn't viewable by the developer and even less that isn't modifiable.

 

[Mouser]

1.Not sure

2.No

3.No

4.No

5.Yes

6. I don't think so.

1) Not sure - That's a VERY important question that needs to have a definite answer.

5) Yes - corrected by another user to No, which was my guess when they said "parts" of the game were modifiable. But the fact that you guys, who buy your pictures/profiles actually use the product don't know this, means that the Dev's here need to do a better job explaining things..

6) I don't think so - That's a question you MUST know the answer to before you release a game. It's not high on my list of things I look for in an engine license, but that doesn't diminish it's importance in practice.

 

[Reynard Frost]

There is a definite answer to 1, it's per user. One license per user, you can install on multiple PCs but only one user can use it.

2) No revenue cap.

3) No royalties

4) No game limit.

5) The source code of the program is not available to the user (You cannot edit the game's .exe for example, but it uses its own scripting language based off of Ruby (RGSS3). It uses Ruby as the language but has its own pre-defined modules that can be modified.

6) No requirements, and there are scripts that let you modify what splash screens you show.

 

[Mouser]

Thanks for all the replies.

I hope someone up there reads this and puts this information out in the open where it belongs.

Meanwhile, I put in a support request asking for all this stuff. When I get a response, I'll post it here.

 

[Shaz]

Have all of your questions been answered to your satisfaction? Or are there any you're still unsure/confused about?

 

[Mouser]

Have all of your questions been answered to your satisfaction? Or are there any you're still unsure/confused about?

Got the response from CS this morning. Very bare bones EULA, but then I'm not familiar with the laws of Japan, which are the ones governing this contract, so I don't know what's legally implied: example: there's no 'severability' clause - and I know at least one of these clauses wouldn't hold up in some states. It seems to be a combination of per seat and per user licensing (section : one user, one seat. Other than that, not too much in the way of restriction or requirements other than 'don't look under the hood' - so no source code access other than what they grant via scripting (and I'd bet the actual engine is not written with scripts).

I still say Enterbrain should have these questions answered clearly on their home page, or at least a link off of it - A section of the FAQ if nothing else. Saying "You can sell your games" without context is meaningless. I can make and sell games using the Hero engine (a true AAA engine) too, if I agree to their 'cloud' licensing terms, which include an annual fee and 30% revenue sharing (or pay the $75k for the source code license, and only pay 7% revenue sharing).

Here's the text I got:

===============================================================================

RPG MAKER VX Ace

End User License Agreement

===============================================================================

IMPORTANT, READ CAREFULLY.

THIS END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (THE “AGREEMENT”) IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU, THE END-USER (THE “LICENSEE”) AND ENTERBRAIN,INC.(“ENTERBRAIN” OR “LICENSOR”) BY INSTALLING OR USING “RPG MAKER VX ACE” (THE “SOFTWARE”), YOU, THE LICENSEE, ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.

READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING OR USING THE SOFTWARE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS, CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PROMPTLY DELETE THE SOFTWARE FROM YOUR COMPUTER.

A. Ownership. ENTERBRAIN retains all title, copyright and other proprietary rights in, and ownership of, the Software. Licensee does not acquire any rights, other than those expressly granted in this Agreement.

B. License

ENTERBRAIN grants to Licensee a non-exclusive, non-assignable license to use the Software on only one (1) computer by installing the Software, and Licensee cannot use the Software concurrently by and on multiple computers.

C. Restriction

Licensee shall not reverse engineer, de-compile, or disassemble the Software.

Further, Licensee shall not sell, assign, lease, sublicense, encumber, or otherwise transfer the Software without the written consent of ENTERBRAIN.

D. User registration

Licensee shall promptly sign up and register required information as a user of the Software. Licensor will provide support, via on-line basis and only the scope designated by Licensor, to the Licensee who completed the registration process in accordance with Licensor’s direction. Such support shall be provided on “as-is” basis without any warranty in any manner.

E. Distribution rights

Licensee may, at its sole discretion and its own risk, distribute the game (“Game”) originally created by Licensee by utilizing the Software with the following conditions;

(i) Only Licensee who properly completed the user registration may distribute its own Game;

(ii) The Game that may be distributed by Licensee shall be legally created and shall not infringe third party’s rights, including, but not limited to, privacy, copyright, trademark, and/or any other intellectual property rights. Licensee shall, at its own expense, indemnify, defend and hold ENTERBRAIN harmless against any claim/suit/proceeding brought against ENTERBRAIN arising out of or in connection with the Game on the issue of infringement of any patent, copyright and/or any other intellectual properties of any third party; and

(iii) Licensee shall be fully responsible for the Game, its contents, including, but not limited to, character, story, scenario, plot, map, music, sound, design, name, the Game’s distribution method, and/or any other items created or added by Licensee.

F. Termination

This Agreement and the license granted hereunder automatically terminates if Licensee breaches any provision of this Agreement. Immediately upon termination of this Agreement, Licensee shall cease using the Software, shall delete the Software and Game from its computers and shall either return to ENTERBRAIN or destroy the Software. If Licensee elects to destroy the Software, then Licensee shall certify in writing to ENTERBRAIN the destruction of the Software.

G. Limited Warranties and Disclaimers.

ENTERBRAIN does not warrant that the Software will meet Licensee’s requirements, that the Software will operate in combinations other than as specified in the Documentation, that the operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or error-free or that Software errors will be corrected.

ENTERBRAIN HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES IN ANY MANNER, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

H. Liability Limitation

IN NO EVENT SHALL ENTERBRAIN BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR USE, INCURRED BY LICENSEE OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ENTERBRAIN’S LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES AND EXPENSES HEREUNDER OR RELATING HERETO (WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT) WILL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF LICENSE FEES PAID TO ENTERBRAIN WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT.

I. Entire Agreement.

This Agreement constitutes the complete agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or representations, written or oral, concerning the subject matter of this Agreement.

J. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Agreement will be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of Japan without regard to choice of law principles. Any and all dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall solely be resolved by and at Tokyo District court, Tokyo, Japan.

===============================================================================

RPG MAKER VX Ace Runtime Package Ver. 1.00

End User License Agreement

===============================================================================

What is RPG MAKER VX Ace Runtime Package?

RPG MAKER VX Ace Runtime Package (RTP) is a collection of materials. It contains graphic, music (.ogg) and dll files which you can use when creating your own games with RPG MAKER VX Ace. So please ensure to install this RTP before you install RPG MAKER VX Ace. Using this RTP, you can reduce the total size of your game files created with VX Ace. If you want to play the games created with VX Ace, you need to install this RTP before you play the games.

*******************************************************************************

RPG MAKER VX Ace Runtime Package - End User License Agreement (Mar. 15th, 2012)

THIS END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (THE "AGREEMENT") IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT BETWEEN YOU, THE END-USER (THE "LICENSEE") AND ENTERBRAIN,INC. ("ENTERBRAIN" OR "LICENSOR"). BY INSTALLING OR USING "RPG MAKER VX ACE RUNTIME PACKAGE" (THE "RTP SOFTWARE"), YOU, THE LICENSEE, ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING OR USING THE RTP SOFTWARE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS, CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PROMPTLY DELETE THE RTP SOFTWARE FROM YOUR COMPUTER.

1. ENTERBRAIN grants to Licensee a non-exclusive, non-assignable, fee-free license to use the RTP SOFTWARE only for the purpose to play the game created and distributed by RPG MAKER VX Ace users who shall complete the registration procedure.

2. Licensee shall not reverse engineer, de-compile, or disassemble the RTP SOFTWARE. Further, Licensee shall not sell, distribute, assign, lease, sublicense, encumber, or otherwise transfer the RTP SOFTWARE and/or its data without any prior written consent of ENTERBRAIN.

3. This Agreement and the license granted hereunder automatically terminates if Licensee breaches any provision of this Agreement. Immediately upon termination of this Agreement, Licensee shall cease using the RTP SOFTWARE, shall delete the RTP SOFTWARE from its computers and shall either return to ENTERBRAIN or destroy the RTP SOFTWARE. If Licensee elects to destroy the RTP SOFTWARE, then Licensee shall certify in writing to ENTERBRAIN the destruction of the RTP SOFTWARE.

4. ENTERBRAIN does not warrant that the RTP SOFTWARE will meet Licensee's requirements, that the RTP SOFTWARE will operate in combinations other than as specified in the Documentation, that the operation of the RTP SOFTWARE will be uninterrupted or error-free or that RTP SOFTWARE errors will be corrected. ENTERBRAIN HEREBY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATION AND WARRANTIES IN ANY MANNER, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

5. IN NO EVENT SHALL ENTERBRAIN BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR USE, INCURRED BY LICENSEE OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT, EVEN IF SUCH PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ENTERBRAIN'S LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES AND EXPENSES HEREUNDER OR RELATING HERETO (WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT OR TORT) WILL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF LICENSE FEES PAID TO ENTERBRAIN WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT.

6. This Agreement constitutes the complete agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or representations, written or oral, concerning the subject matter of this Agreement.

7. This Agreement will be interpreted and enforced in accordance with the laws of Japan without regard to choice of law principles. Any and all dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall solely be resolved by and at Tokyo District court, Tokyo, Japan.

*******************************************************************************

Note for using VX Ace RTP with other RPG MAKER products

The materials included in RPG MAKER VX Ace RTP can be used with other RPG MAKER products from Enterbrain as long as you own both RPG MAKER VX Ace and other RPG MAKER products. For example, if you already own RPG MAKER VX and you want to use any materials included in the VX Ace RTP with RPG MAKER VX, you need to purchase and own RPG MAKER VX Ace also.

How to install RPG MAKER VX Ace RTP

1. Run Setup.exe in RTP100 folder to start installation program.

2. Follow the on-screen instruction to finish the installation.

How to get the latest information

Please visit our official RPG MAKER web site below.

http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

© 2012 ENTERBRAIN, INC./YOJI OJIMA

Microsoft®, Windows®, Windows Vista®, DirectX® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

[Shaz]

Ok, so, to summarize:

Is the licensing per seat or per user?

Per seat. If you want to run it on 2 computers, you need 2 licenses

Is there a revenue cap for companies using this product? Is there a separate license in that case?

no

Is there a royalty or other payback system.?

no

Is there a limit to how many games can be sold without needing additional licenses?

no

Is the complete source code for the game engine provided? Can it be modified?

You get the code for most of the runtime engine, as Ruby scripts, and you can modify those as you like. There are some things that are not provided. You are not allowed to modify the .dll and you are not allowed to modify the editor

Are there logo or other 'splash screen' requirements? (not as important as the others, but still part of the license agreement)

no

Basically, you pay for the engine once, and you can use it to make as much money as you're capable of making, without having to pay anything else.

Of course, resources for your game are another matter. You are allowed to use what is provided with the game engine, but anything else you must be sure you have the rights to use (either commission, or find resources that are marked as available for commercial use)

 

[Reynard Frost]

So if I want to work on Ace at home (desktop), and then work at Ace on the go (laptop) I have to buy two copies? Even though I'm the only one using it? That sounds a bit... bad.

 

[Mouser]

Ok, so, to summarize:

Is the licensing per seat or per user?

Per seat. If you want to run it on 2 computers, you need 2 licenses

Not exactly. Per seat means the license is for the computer. So a second person could sit down there and also use the software - but two people couldn't use it at once, since it's only on one machine.

I think they're trying to say per user, with the 'concurrent' phrase, but it isn't coming out clearly. The test would be activation. If the engine will activate on more than one machine, then the odds are good they mean per-user licensing.

What is clear: 1) every user of the program must have their own license. Even if three people all share the same machine, they each need their own license. 2) You may not use the software on two computers at the same time (without having two licenses).

I'm going to send off a reply to see if they can clarify this... If they only mean one user on one computer, why put the 'concurrent' condition in? It's a moot point unless the software is installed on two machines.

 

[Shaz]

This was already answered in another thread, in the very early days of Ace. I'll go bug one of the Degica guys to come and clarify.

 

[Mouser]

I just got a reply back from Sales Support:

Hi Walt,

You are correct. You are allowed to use the software on only one machine at a time. If you want to use it on your Desktop, you'll have to remove it from your laptop, and Vice Versa.

Please let us know if there's any other questions we can answer for you, we'll be glad to help.

Best Regards,

RPG MAKER Sales Support

______________________________________________

If this is correct, then they have combined the restrictions of both per user and per seat licensing. I've never heard of any software doing this - even my ProTools, which uses hardware based authentication (the dreaded ILok) doesn't restrict the machines I can install it on.

However, my guess is that Legal is off for the weekend, so I'm not entirely convinced by this reply, though whoever typed it is speaking for the company...

 

[Reynard Frost]

From the looks of the ToS you posted, it's only by seat, I don't see it referring it to by user.

 

[Shaz]

Yes, that means if you have 3 people who use the computer, all of them would be allowed to use the engine.

That's like me purchasing a (casual) game that I can put onto my computer. The company I buy it from doesn't care how many people play it, just how many computers it's installed on simultaneously).

 

[Mouser]

From the looks of the ToS you posted, it's only by seat, I don't see it referring it to by user.

You're right. I thought I saw the word licensee in there where it wasn't. What I get for deciphering legalese when I'm tired.

So it's a simple per-seat license. Question answered (maybe - see below)

Edited for spelling.

B ) Enterbrain grants to licensee a license to use the software on only (1) computer...

It's easy if licensee is a corporation (yet another reason to incorporate), but if licensee is an individual... I'm not 100% convinced on this one. The 'license to use' is being granted only to the licensee.

- the non-exclusive refers to Enterbrain not limiting licensing RPG maker to just you

- non-assignable means you can't transfer your license to someone else (say by selling the software - which runs against the Doctrine of First Sale in the US, though all the major game companies seem to be trying to find ways around that - ie: kill the used games market - Steam for example, does not sell games, only subscriptions to them).

 

[Mitchell]

Hey,

Just wanted to chime in here with an official response.

We've recently brought in new member to the support team and they are still getting up to speed on everything.

Technically, the license is to be used on only one computer.

That being said, we are fine with a user installing and activating the program on their other computers (e.g. desktop and laptop) provided that they are the only/main person using RPG Maker on these other computers. I have confirmed this with EB and they don't have any problems with us telling people this.

Each activation key can be used to activate RPG Maker VX Ace a certain number of times. We monitor the number of activations per key and (I believe) the IP addresses used to perform the activations.

Let me know if you have any other questions

 

[Shaz]

Thanks for following up, Mitch