Custom Characters Torrent idea

[sherlockemery]

Hey Guys & Gals,

I was wondering if anyone had made a Custom Character torrent with tons of the meshes already installed.  I'm thinking of something that is a zipped/rared file, that could be opened & then drag & dropped into that directory.

I know there would be a ton of issues with it (fx would be the toughest thing I think), but it could enable a quick download, with a lot of content.  No illegal sharing would be condoned (ie no images or copies of games).

I used to have a ton installed, But 2 wipes of windows later, I don't have those files anymore (sadly).  I could begin the reinstall process in order to get this up and running, but there would be a pretty hefty delay, as I'd also want to add in a lot of skins. 

So, does this idea carry any merit, or is it just a waste of time?

[Previsionary]

This idea wouldn't get very far unless you got permission from all the creators whose work you chose to include in such a file. That'd be a little hard to say it simply. ALso, the filesize of such a thing would be ridiculousy high and I doubt anyone would upload such a file and it kinda eliminates people from downloading as well. Not to mention converting adds an extra problem for both FF1 and FFVTTR players (IE: meshes converted for ffvttr wont work in ff1, some meshes need converting for ffvttr, some meshes dont work in ffvttr, etc)

On the plus side, that's essentially what a mod is for. Mod contains several heroes, some that arent released outside of the mod, that you can easily grab and transfer to another mod or the main game itself. Plus, it virtually extends the re-playability of the game.

[Epimethee]

Good points Prev; still, I think this could be a good idea.

This idea wouldn't get very far unless you got permission from all the creators (...)

Would a permission be required for this? It's only "hosting" – more or less – existing files (and no, this sentence shouldn't be interpreted as my opinion on the whole file sharing vs copyright ;) ). So, unless the author specified that he'd like to be asked for permission before sharing the file or hosting it elsewhere, I wouldn't think this is a major stumbling block. Maybe a text file with the list of sites where character files were taken (if available) would be enough?

Also, the filesize of such a thing would be ridiculousy high and I doubt anyone would upload such a file and it kinda eliminates people from downloading as well.

Well, a 500MB file is nothing exceptional for a torrent while still holding a fairly good selection of meshes and skins (the better compression formats, such as RAR and 7ZIP help). As for downloads, if you don't wan't an item, don't select it from the list of elements included in the complete torrent.

Not to mention converting adds an extra problem for both FF1 and FFVTTR players (...)

Labelling the meshes as being for FF1 or FFvsTTR should be sufficient, IMO.

On the plus side, that's essentially what a mod is for.

While mods are great, they don't nearly cover the complete spectrum of meshes and skins.

[kylepacker]

I think this would be a fantastic idea. I actually asked if this sort of thing was avaliable for all the marvel characters a while back. Of course, designer permissions would be needed, but I really think it'd be a bonus to people like me that haven't got many, and are looking for them, wading through sites that have gone, or groups that dont exist :)

[GGiant]

sherlockemery, this has got ta be a great idea.
But, asking all the designers,skinners,hexers. :huh:

[Carravaggio]

I know as a creator i wouldn't be happy with my stuff being shared like this, it seems like warehousing to me. People want my stuff they gotta come to me for it. Look at it from the POV of a mesher. Can you imagine someone like Renegade or Tommyboy being happy that hundreds of their creations are being housed by a stranger and distributed anonymously across the globe?
Plus if the title of this topic 'Custom Character' torrent idea is about custom characters, that is non mainstream chars, then the lines blur even further. sherlockemery i can see why you might want to do this, and some logic is sound, but overall I couldn't and wouldn't support such an idea.

So, unless the author specified that he'd like to be asked for permission before sharing the file or hosting it elsewhere, I wouldn't think this is a major stumbling block.

This is me saying you must have permission to host my stuff anywhere for any reason before you do it, just to be clear.

[kylepacker]

Maybe start a thread to get designers 'ok' to use their skins and meshes, then once enough have listed up, use them? not sure if that'll work.

[GGiant]

Unless they have permission and readme.txt that says:
This mesh is by blah blah blah.
Please give him/her credit.
And other blah blah blah stuff.

[stumpy]

It seems like those "permissions" threads often stir up a ruckus. No doubt that's partly because so many of the meshers and skinners have publicly stated their policies, either on the forums or in the READMEs that come with their stuff, so the responses to such threads are often low. Also, there are some people who, for whatever reason, don't even like the idea of there being such threads. (Go figure. I make no statement about how good the idea may or may not be, but it's not clear what the problem is with just asking for authors to pipe up. If they do, great. If they don't, oh well.)

But, something that always seems to come up is what to do about skins and meshes from creators who don't reply to the thread. The obvious answer is that people who don't respond have not given permission (unless they have done so elsewhere, in which case it's the permission seeker's job to track that down). Any other approach is going to ruffle feathers, and rightly so, from what I have seen.

As someone who (aside from mods) has downloaded only a couple dozen meshes in all my time with the games (and never distributed any of them), but who has seen lots of bytes wasted arguing over this sort of undertaking, I would respectfully make two suggestions.

• Avoid assumptions of wrongdoing. Be very clear that there are no plans to distribute anything for which permission hasn't been acquired. Lack of response will not be interpreted to mean permission was granted.
  
• Give creator credit. Be very clear that creators will be credited for each of their creations that is included. No lazy excuses like "I unzipped this one long ago and lost the readme file...".
  
• Due diligence. Do the basic groundwork before starting any threads. That means
  
  
  
  • Use the search tool and track down permissions that have already been given in the forums. E.g. do the obvious searches like searching for permission in the skins/meshes/requests/etc groups). Some people will have said you can distribute their stuff and how to do so.
    
  • Check the readme files from some of the skinners and meshers you know you are going to want to include. Same deal: many authors make it clear whether and how their stuff can be distributed.
  • PM/email the skinners and meshers you know you are going to want to include whose intentions aren't otherwise clear.
  Doing things like the above will likely yield a pretty good list before ever starting a permissions thread.
  

Anyway, that is just some advice to avoid trouble. Obviously, the purpose of such an endeavor is to be helpful to people in getting the cool stuff that makes the game fun. But the first step is to make sure you don't annoy the people who have made the things you want to help people get.

[Jakew]

Skins/meshes are pretty easy to find via yahoo group lists, the master mesh list, existing websites, and the helpfulness of the gaming community on these boards. Its all readily available and no-one is hesitant to share ... so what is the advantage of compiling "packs"? Just make sure you back up your files.

[Peerless1]

Skins/meshes are pretty easy to find via yahoo group lists, the master mesh list, existing websites, and the helpfulness of the gaming community on these boards. Its all readily available and no-one is hesitant to share ... so what is the advantage of compiling "packs"? Just make sure you back up your files.

2 months of re-downloading (on dial-up  :angry:), and 20+ hours of re-organizing  :doh: due to items lost in previous system crashes, I have personally learned my lesson:  I now have a hard drive backup and 2 dvd+rw backups of all my  :ff: &  :ffvstr: files. 

Look for my post in General Discussion (later today August 9, 2007) on how I believe I may help those looking for stuff, or with disorganized collections.  I will also post links to the Master Mesh List and NifSkope Permissions list at that thread.  If you have a need for my assistance beyond the links, please pm me.  Pending the number of requests and RL demands, it could take some time, but I will respond to all asap.  At least until I get my "little" index (hint hint) uploaded.

Permissions and credits (although seeming tedious to those who just want the toys) are absolutely necessary, and show an uncommon level of courtesy and respect to the creators.

If I have implied that any1 here is being disrespectful, that was not my intent.  La la la.  I ramble (and preach [sorry]).  At least you made the effort to ask  :thumbup:, and I have not always remembered to do that.  :thumbdown:

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.  :P

P1

[crywolf]

this is a good idea...any one can make it?   :lol:

[cmdrkoenig67]

Not unless all permissions are granted.  It's a disaster waiting to happen, if the meshes and/or skins are hosted without permissions.

the best/fastest way to get multiple meshes and skins is via mods.

dana

[cmdrkoenig67]

2 months of re-downloading (on dial-up  :angry:), and 20+ hours of re-organizing  :doh: due to items lost in previous system crashes, I have personally learned my lesson:  I now have a hard drive backup and 2 dvd+rw backups of all my  :ff: &  :ffvstr: files. 

Good for you, Peerless...It's always a good idea to back up all the files you want to protect on another drive (I have back-ups of mine too).

Dana

[Verfall]

The amount of bandwidth required to dl such a torrent would be ridiculous. My FF folder, well the folder I tossed the zips into anyway, is a gig and a half, and I probably have less than 1% of the meshes and skins this community has churned out over the years. I'm sure there are a few of you out there with 20 gig FF folders, but to seed all that would kill your internet pretty quickly.

Now if people themselves would throw up torrents of their combined work on their sites, instead of making people wade through separate files, that might get more ground with this community. I'm sure many of us would prefer to dl, say, beyonders entire mesh collection straight into their FF folders, already spread out into the specific folders and ready to go. Heck, it would be easy in the installation if you just tell them to set the dl to this specific folder and all the goodies install exactly as specified.

On another note, people still play this game?   :blink:

[Epimethee]

On another note, people still play this game?   :blink:

There ARE other games? :blink:

[the_ultimate_evil]

on a personal note, i got to say no.

[Figure Fan]

On another note, people still play this game?   :blink:

LOL

Well, apparently. I don't, nor have I made any custom content for it is quite some time. I suppose people who have just been introduced to it are playing it. It has gotten pretty old to me. I only played it for, oh--FIVE YEARS.

[Tortuga]

AS long as credit is given where credit is due, I happily donate any/all of my FF skins (not one Marvel or DC in the whole bunch!).

[Panther_Gunn]

Just to supplement IPS's post (if not exactly his tone  ;));

An added benefit of going to an artist's site (whether web page, Yahoo group, or collected site (such as NPI)) is that after you find what you're looking for, you get the opportunity to find *other* things that you like from that artist, that you may not have been looking for at that time, and maybe hadn't even thought about wanting yet.  Probably 25-40% of the things I've d/l'd have been like that.  Both Tommyboy's site (can't remember what I was looking for, but found *quite* a few that I d/l'd!) and Ren's were like that for me, in recent memory (went looking for the NoMan mesh, came away with a couple more).