UPDATED 14/06/18 - *** Rules for User Made Mods and Edits of PDS games ***

  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Hi there :)

Sorry if I ask, but I read some posts back in 2013 about this particular topic and was wondering if something changed or, if not, if some admin could answer my questions.

I'm a musician, and would like to create music mods (i.e. for Stellaris). I would want to feel free to bundle in the mod music I'm currently selling, or distribute the very same music I bundle in the mod (for free) on my Bandcamp page, or stream it on Spotify for instance. Also, if people liked my music and wanted to hear more of it, I would want to link my pages in the mod description. Lastly, I would be concerned if, given a lack of copyright notice over my original work, some music-skilled user would then feel empowered to plagiarise my work, or redistribute the music as theirs in other music stores. This concern is not primarily directed towards Paradox or the modding community, but towards the final users of the mods.

How does the "infamous" Rule 4 apply to this case? Are there ways to protect my IP without breaking it?
 
Hello!

So I searched this thread in an answer to a question and I think I got it right, but I want to confirm first - it's all a bit confusing. By these rules, am I allowed to host my CKII mod in a public repository on a site such as BitBucket or GitHub, if I don't post links to the repository outside of the CKII Modding subforum? It'd still be available when searching via conventional tools, though.

What if I upload "builds" as zipped packages on the repository's page, would that change anything?
 
Hello!

So I searched this thread in an answer to a question and I think I got it right, but I want to confirm first - it's all a bit confusing. By these rules, am I allowed to host my CKII mod in a public repository on a site such as BitBucket or GitHub, if I don't post links to the repository outside of the CKII Modding subforum? It'd still be available when searching via conventional tools, though.

What if I upload "builds" as zipped packages on the repository's page, would that change anything?

Popular mods like Voltaire's Nightmare are hosted on public GitHub repositories without troubles, so I guess you're in the clear :)
 
Popular mods like Voltaire's Nightmare are hosted on public GitHub repositories without troubles, so I guess you're in the clear :)
Oh, I didn't know that! A quick and dirty search revealed nothing so I thought I'd ask here first. Thanks a lot!
 
Popular mods like Voltaire's Nightmare are hosted on public GitHub repositories without troubles, so I guess you're in the clear :)
Voltaire's Nightmare provides a mediafire link.

Mods should not be provided through GitHub.
 
Voltaire's Nightmare provides a mediafire link.

Mods should not be provided through GitHub.

To rephrase, as i understand a direct download link is okay, but not a link to the page itself.
 
For rule #7, do EU4 mission icons apply? Like can I use a mission icon that was intended for a mission locked behind a DLC, in a modded mission tree? In the current patch, the game doesn't stop you from doing this, and the icons are all in the base game files, so I'm wondering if it's allowed.
 
In regards of : https://www.paradoxplaza.com/mod-static-info-ca.html

There seems to be a dispute in interpretation. Do modders have any rights to their mods? I mean specifically regarding rule 5 posted here that claims that mod authors must get consent from other mod author to include their works. This rule seems in contradiction with the linked document which claims that Paradox claim ownership of the mod and thus would be the one that could authorize someone to use any mods.

So to be concise my question is: Can mod author forbid derivative work made from their works?
 
In regards of : https://www.paradoxplaza.com/mod-static-info-ca.html

There seems to be a dispute in interpretation. Do modders have any rights to their mods? I mean specifically regarding rule 5 posted here that claims that mod authors must get consent from other mod author to include their works. This rule seems in contradiction with the linked document which claims that Paradox claim ownership of the mod and thus would be the one that could authorize someone to use any mods.

So to be concise my question is: Can mod author forbid derivative work made from their works?
It's not really a contradiction... You can't claim IP stuff from Paradox.

But, between modders, you own your work, and other modders should ask you if they borrow files from your mod.
 
For rule #7, do religion id apply? Like can I move yazidi out of muslim_group and put it to pagan_group?

I would imagine the answer differs depending on whether the mod overlaps with vanilla and whether you've locked all features properly.

When it comes to overlap, if vanilla's characters are around I would imagine that you've got an issue as those presumably fall under "content owned by Paradox Interactive" (even though they're based on historical people for the most part) and making them playable likely counts as making them "usable" without a DLC, so e.g. AtEFF would likely not have issues due to character overlap while e.g. Tianxia definitely would.

When it comes to feature-locking, keep in mind that any condition that reads e.g. "religion = yazidi" also has an implicit

Code:
OR = {
   ai = yes
   has_dlc = "Sword of Islam"
}

check (as the human player isn't eligible (barring other valid conditions in an OR) for it without the DLC), so without adding an explicit check for that it's a pretty clear Rule 7 breach.

Also, I'd imagine you'd not be Rule 7 compliant if you replaced the religion tag; if you replace the "yazidi" tag with a "totally_not_yazidi" tag with the same features you're presumably in trouble.
 
Last edited:
The Mod Policy page here says

3. Any use of the mod tools, and creation and publication of mods, is for strictly non-commercial purposes only, and you may not accept any fees or donations for your creation and publication of mods.

So are donations via patreon no longer allowed? Or does that wording just mean you can't receive donations exclusively for the mod?
 
The Mod Policy page here says

3. Any use of the mod tools, and creation and publication of mods, is for strictly non-commercial purposes only, and you may not accept any fees or donations for your creation and publication of mods.

So are donations via patreon no longer allowed? Or does that wording just mean you can't receive donations exclusively for the mod?
that's actually an interesting question. I've had a patreon for years now, related to all the work I do. It's 'officially' tied to my blog, but I make clear that the research I do for things I tweet, and even my discord server, are all helped by patreon donations.

As such, how does this impact any mods I have made or will make?

Can I mention my patreon on the mod's download page? (I'm assuming that's a hard no)

And if I do not, what if someone else does? A fan for example, am I obligated to delete the comment?
 
The Mod Policy page here says

3. Any use of the mod tools, and creation and publication of mods, is for strictly non-commercial purposes only, and you may not accept any fees or donations for your creation and publication of mods.

So are donations via patreon no longer allowed? Or does that wording just mean you can't receive donations exclusively for the mod?
that's actually an interesting question. I've had a patreon for years now, related to all the work I do. It's 'officially' tied to my blog, but I make clear that the research I do for things I tweet, and even my discord server, are all helped by patreon donations.

As such, how does this impact any mods I have made or will make?

Can I mention my patreon on the mod's download page? (I'm assuming that's a hard no)

And if I do not, what if someone else does? A fan for example, am I obligated to delete the comment?
See this:
SNEAKY EDIT:
Removed the following line: You may not solicit directly or indirectly donation in any form.
Our terms of use has been updated and you are allowed to include a link to Patreon (for example). If someone wants to donate for the time you've invested in creating your mod, that's fine, but make sure it follows rule 8 above.
What you can't do is to limit mod access to donators only.
 
I have raise the point to the powers that be. They are checking with Legal if it was a problem during the forum upgrade or if the policy has changed.

I'll give a heads up when i get a response.
 
  • 1
Reactions:
The Mod Policy page here says

3. Any use of the mod tools, and creation and publication of mods, is for strictly non-commercial purposes only, and you may not accept any fees or donations for your creation and publication of mods.

So are donations via patreon no longer allowed? Or does that wording just mean you can't receive donations exclusively for the mod?

The last i read did sound like the page you linked.
As in the page and opening post loup linked
At least implied.

You may not accept any fee or donation FOR your CREATION and PUBLICATION of mods, so you may not do take 'jobs' to create a specifc type of mod and earn money that way nor create or offer anything because someone paid you. Donations have to be without any ties (bonuses, promises to do something , exclusive offers etc.). So you may take donations (for the mod) as such, but not FOR creating and publicating a mod or any variety thereof.
That's how i understood it.

Legalese is complicated.
Disclaimer: i'm, just another forum member.
 
Last edited:
hm. This seems less restrictive than I thought. So if I understand....

I can not say "I will only give you this mod if you give me $5"

I probably can, but to be safe should not, say "I will make you a mod for $5"

I probably can, and I think maybe I could, say "if you have come to me, and offered me $5 to make a mod, I will do so, and post it publicly"

I can say "here is my patreon" on the mod page

I can have a patreon even if all I do is make paradox mods.

I can certainly have a patreon, even if I make mods, so long as I do something beyond just making paradox mods.