EULA Cheats or Hacks

[redd.tsu]

EULA Cheats or Hacks

I was reading the EULA when installing W3, and I came across a line that said "(e.g. don’t cheat or use hacks)". Does this only apply to some form of multiplayer, or am I not allowed to modify my singleplayer game? Unless there is some form of built in networking I am unaware of. It would be rather unfortunate to hear I cannot enjoy the game my way.

 

[dragonbird]

Someone mentioned this in passing a few days ago, but nobody followed up on it. Do you (or anyone else reading this) have a full copy of the EULA? I gather it's the GOG version? There's been plenty of confirmation already about mods, so I don't think it means what it LOOKS as though it means.

I'm not sure how long it'll take, as the devs are probably busy at the moment, but if it isn't easily explainable when the full text is there, I'd be happy to ask them.

 

[redd.tsu]

Here is a pastebin of the EULA I am reading. I am prompted to agree with it when hitting the install button.
http://pastebin.com/hD5B5nZM

 

[GuyNwah]

It's a single player game, so I doubt enforcement against cheats is a priority. I'm sure there will be cheats from unlimited inventory all the way up to god mode shortly after release.

Concerning hacks, if I were writing that, my primary concern would be enforcement against inappropriate uses, such as isolating the engine or reverse engineering algorithms to use in a different game. Reverse engineering like figuring out file formats, and hacks like unpacking and repacking archives, are necessities for modding.

The full clause, from the User Agreement at http://bar.cdprojektred.com/regulations/ reads:
"So (unless you have prior CD PROJEKT RED permission) please don’t modify, merge, distribute, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble CD PROJEKT RED games and services – unless you’re allowed in this Agreement, or by the law in your country."

There is nothing about "cheats" in the User Agreement. There is "don't hack, harm, grief, misuse, or interfere with" language. Naturally, mods that amount to cheats would be inappropriate in a multiuser game, but this is not one.

 

[dragonbird]

OK. I totally agree that you have a right to be concerned/puzzled/confused. That is a very strange EULA for a game that's expected to have mods, and a LOT different from the TW2 version.

I'll ask. But, as I said, no promises on when there'll be a reply. It may also be worth you asking on the GOG forums.

---------- Updated at 02:01 PM ----------

It's a single player game, so I doubt enforcement against cheats is a priority. I'm sure there will be cheats from unlimited inventory all the way up to god mode shortly after release.

Concerning hacks, if I were writing that, my primary concern would be enforcement against inappropriate uses, such as isolating the engine or reverse engineering algorithms to use in a different game. Reverse engineering like figuring out file formats, and hacks like unpacking and repacking archives, are necessities for modding.

I agree, that's probably the intention, but I don't think it's well-worded.
(I used to work a lot with Government contracts. We came up with this all the time - Oh, it's OK, that's not what we mean. My view was always that if they didn't mean it, they shouldn't say it.)

 

[redd.tsu]

I would imagine it is just a preliminary legal safety net so they don't have anybody redistributing before launch, but I still would hate to do something they didn't approve of and have it taken away.

 

[GuyNwah]

I agree, that's probably the intention, but I don't think it's well-worded.
(I used to work a lot with Government contracts. We came up with this all the time - Oh, it's OK, that's not what we mean. My view was always that if they didn't mean it, they shouldn't say it.)

Yeah, that is likely to happen when you have people who aren't contracts and licenses (we used to call them "green eyeshade") types writing license agreements. Trying to write in easy-reader language usually makes it worse.

 

[Fronko32]

Here is a pastebin of the EULA I am reading. I am prompted to agree with it when hitting the install button.
http://pastebin.com/hD5B5nZM

Thanks for posting this online. I do hope that they allow cheats, I always try to raise my gold that way. On a sidenote has anyone else also read line 38 and 40 of the EULA? " You can optionally register a GOG Galaxy account if you like and as a bonus we’ll give you additional free content for your PC game version," Does anyone know what this free content is?

 

[redd.tsu]

Has anybody followed up on this since its release?

 

[dragonbird]

Following up, but I think that the REDS may be a little busy, or exhausted, or something right now.
In the meantime:
The Steam version of the EULA is significantly different, and pretty much what I would expect. There's a link here:
http://store.steampowered.com/eula/292030_eula_0
(I'm assuming this is visible even if you're not a Steam user)
There's a link in it to the full legal document at CDPR. That link goes here:
http://bar.cdprojektred.com/regulations/
It's a little surprisingly dated next week, but reading the contents, you can do pretty much what I would expect.
Read sections 8, 9 and 11. Sections 9 and 11 are the important ones regarding modding and Youtube videos respectively.

Please note: I'm not replying in any official capacity. The date on the link IS next week, so it may not be final. But if this is roughly what's coming, then my guess is nobody needs be concerned.