Ripping-off Without Shame

[+Menrva 4,074]

Just wanted to let everyone know that a user active on FB posted news of his "mod" on ModDB with a link to it. He goes by the nickname "Strike Fighters 2" (how original) and has a following of over 500 users. 

The package is a mix of mods from CombatACE without any permission from the original authors, including yours truly; he made use of the NL terrains package that gerwin and I produced. I also saw one of the terrains by Wrench in the screenshots, and I'm sure he got a lot more in the package I don't dare downloading.

The guy apparently made his own skins for aircraft and cockpits, nothing wrong with that, but he's also sharing tons of aircraft and terrains which he definitely not produced, and doesn't even credit the authors at all.

If you're among his 500+ followers, consider yourself on par with him, shame on you. We produce tons of mods in free time for free, but that doesn't mean that our work can be shared elsewhere and others can take credit for it without shame.

I don't have the power of closing his FB page. I have an account on ModDB though and I reported both his page: Strike Fighters 2 - Lightning 2 - Falcon Edition mod - ModDB and his profile: StrikeFighters2 - ModDB. Due to how ModDB works, multiple reports are needed until the admins consider them. You don't need an account to report it, so I'd appreciate if you click on the " ! " in the Profile box. Thanks in advance.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Menrva

[+EricJ 3,994]

I see the Viggen in the screenshots in the first page you linked. Isn't that a DAT bird? But I'm sure my stuff is in there too and I'll unfollow him ASAP, and report it.

[+Menrva 4,074]

@EricJ Also found a separate F/A-18 mod uploaded by another user, I think it's based on your work: F/A-18A mod for Strike Fighters 2: Europe - ModDB

Most likely the same F/A-18 that SandMartin once uploaded over here (I think he got banned from CombatACE for it).

31 minutes ago, EricJ said:

I see the Viggen in the screenshots in the first page you linked. Isn't that a DAT bird?

Then we can assume that even Capun's stuff is being ripped-off. It's just best that we get rid of this guy's page and account ASAP, though who knows which is his account on CombatACE.

 

Just FYI, I sent a PM to the admins of ModDB. I hope not to bother them. I guess they get tons of such posts every day, it's a huge website after all.

Don't worry about seeing the ODS 30AE mod listed on ModDB, I posted news about it myself in the past. The mod itself is only available at CombatACE at this time.

Edited December 21, 2023 by Menrva

[Wrench 9,632]

That's a well know pirate site, and not the only one. Hopefully, ModDB will do something about it, but I'm not holding my breath. There's been SO much of this shit going on since forever; the only way to stop it is "eliminate" the purpetrator. Permanently. (but, that's just me -- I'm a black and white kinda guy)

Ok people -- you all know what you need to do!!! Get to it!!

[bazillius 1,254]

I just downloaded this modification to watch what happened. My planes are there too. sure, the author did not ask my permission. If you gave your plane as a gift and share it, be prepared that it will spread over the Internet. Let the schoolboy play, don't damage your nerve cells by this. I deleted the modification and just forgot about it. it's just a rambling collection of planes. It's not worth my attention. My opinion.

[+Erik 1,733]

I'm sure his facebook account can be reported, someone should look into it. 

[UllyB 1,205]

I reported the facebook page for link to piracy (it's a link to the game on MediaFire of the SF2 NA gamekit), for IP infringement and for not asking permission for IP work. I also reported on ModDB the page for IP infringement and publishing material without authors consent.

Edited December 24, 2023 by UllyB

[High-Flyer 3]

so sad all this work being stolen - i hate it.  funny my comment was edited when i say about piracy before in yap redo project but now its ok - silly.   i see they make pretend to be american there and i think they are not.  nothing safe anymore  

[+daddyairplanes 9,238]

YAP Revamp isnt American led, the head honcho on that is italian iirc.

and Revamp does try to abide by the legal and group common rules. i know of a few parts that were taken out when others objected, even though they were in the original YAP releases iirc. he also works to give credit where its due, although there is so much that he has a hard time keeping track

disclaimer: im not majorly active over there, but have assisted in some ways. mostly in cleaning up files to reduce the install size.

[High-Flyer 3]

I dont understand what are you saying.  I 'm not talking YAP about americans trick, i mean this topic is what the menrva said here Strike Fighters 2 - Lightning 2 - Falcon Edition mod - ModDB

Since you say Revamp and bring up yes of course long time people here alrady know things were stolen both old and new stuff lol - but my reply again is to thiefs of lighting 2 mod.  And i know only time everything gets stolen and shame as said here how much work stolen like in the lightning 2 mod and other mods.  i feel sad for the modders who work so hard here and then all hard work gets ripped by thieves and that is what im saying. 

[PeacePuma 549]

Two things:
1- I think the post is excellent and I suggest that we support it by reporting the offending FB for intellectual property violation, with multiple requests measures will be taken so that the message is understood loud and clear... the same can be done in Mediafire (perhaps the file has already been deleted).

2- On the other hand, I support the existence of sites like YAP RV and others that show the work of modders or that only share screens of enthusiasts who customize or only show their experience with the sim
 

On 21/12/2023 at 13:05, Menrva said:

If you're among his 500+ followers, consider yourself on par with him, shame on you. 

And here I do not agree with Menrva, we cannot guess if a FB site that initially posts screenshots then uploads pirated material, that's always the responsibility of whoever is wrong, whether it's the admin or a guest... don't do the stupid thing Capun did by pointing the finger at those who visited FB communities in which certain users made their own mistakes, the guy puts everyone in the same bag... ... He took me off his page and when I asked him for explanations he told me "Tell me who you are with.. and I will tell you who you are" without further arguments. . ... That is, if I visit a group and someone has the bad idea of posting something illegal, am I a pirate?... and what happens if here something pirated is published and the complaint arrives late... are we all complicit here because we were able to download that material??? what nonsense... people judge themselves by their actions and not by presumptions...

For me it's simple, if the site is a community and something illegal is posted you can support CA by publicly rejecting piracy and asking the administrator to filter the posts... if the space is private you simply unsubscribe or stop following it.

Edited December 29, 2023 by PeacePuma

[+Menrva 4,074]

@PeacePuma I admit I might have been hot-headed in my post (I'd say reasonably once you see your mods worth months of work being stolen), but my point stands. UllyB confirmed that such page distributes a pirated copy of SF2NA. Of all those 500+ followers, for sure there are some who were just interested in seeing screenshots this hack posted; nothing wrong with that. However, his page still exists, which means that when he uploaded a pirated copy of the game, none of the 500+ followers did a thing about it. There are users who didn't notice and soon unfollowed him once they got aware of what happened, alongside reporting the page. Those may have felt offended by my post and if so I apologize to them. Now that the page has been exposed, to follow a group or account that condones piracy is a deliberate action to my eyes. I want to precise I'm not referring to users who started following that account long ago and even forgot about it. Of all 500+ followers, I feel safe to assume some are still active and condone piracy. One of the reasons why TK left was piracy, and I think it happens to a greater extent than we'd think if pages like this exist on FB.

Edited December 29, 2023 by Menrva

[+Sundowner 4,583]

It's not worth losing any sleep over piracy issues really.

Do you REALLY know how many models and skins etc have been and still are created using pirate copies of 3DS Max and Photoshop ?

There would be an awful lot less pages of downloads here at CA without them.

Not trying to be argumentative or anything, just stating a fact.

A lot of folks here get all wound up about piracy issues while being fully guilty of it themselves.

[+Menrva 4,074]

@Sundowner Agree to disagree. I'm not losing my sleep over such issues, but when they involve my works (and those of the modders I closely work with), I want to do my part to try and prevent that they are shared without permission. I may fail at it, but after spending months and even years in making terrains and other mods, I think I have this small right of pointing out where mods shouldn't be downloaded from. It's bad that some others repackage stuff as their own without crediting the original authors, especially since it doesn't take much to do so. I'm like this, like it or not. I won't be silent when things like this happen. You're entitled to being passive on the matter, but I certainly did not expect that my post is being called out more than those pages of piracy. It seems to me things are starting to become the opposite over here as well, and I truly hope it's just a wrong impression.

[+Sundowner 4,583]

@Menrva Sorry mate, I understand where you're coming from and like I say I was'nt  trying to cause any rifts or ruffle any feathers.

This is the modern age and sadly morals and ethics mean nothing where the internet is concerned.

[+daddyairplanes 9,238]

13 hours ago, High-Flyer said:

were stolen both old and new stuff lol

for Revamp, its more possession of stolen goods than active theft. but he does much that the older YAP crew didnt (and doesnt do things that they did do). the taint his project may have frankly comes from the YAP name....

3 hours ago, Sundowner said:

Do you REALLY know how many models and skins etc have been and still are created using pirate copies of 3DS Max and Photoshop ?

excuse me sir, im both reputable and broke

i use GIMP

[+Sundowner 4,583]

5 hours ago, daddyairplanes said:

 

excuse me sir, im both reputable and broke

i use GIMP

But what was used to create the models...........

Edited December 29, 2023 by Sundowner
Cos I wanted to..

[Wrench 9,632]

Blender and the charity of others with MAX????

 

 

[PeacePuma 549]

Believe me, it is not a waste of time to talk about these things... sometimes it is good to know what the community thinks about respect for the work done here... and my comment to Menrva is not a criticism, it is just saying that we must be firm with the rules but you don't have to go on a witch hunt because it is exhausting and you can fall into injustice... I think that outside of CA there are many people who honestly don't know how long it takes to make a model... hey Here you have a crazy person who took 10 years to create a marvel... (I say crazy out of affection), when you get involved you value him a lot and you empathize more with the frustration of seeing your creation usurped.

I also believe that there are stupid people, without bad intentions, who have not thought about what they do and share things "generously", they deserve a cordial warning, and there are certainly ill-intentioned people who appropriate other people's work, without any respect, towards them. You have to be tough and severe.

Some can sometimes find me on a Latin FB (I haven't posted photos of the sim in a while) the thing is that several complaints were generated due to the CA material that was published without consent, with the support of several users and the administrators it was achieved filter the content before making the posts public, personally when I saw that a CA file was published I chose to invite the user to delete it for the good of everyone and the reputation of the site... I think people understand with good manners, I also insist There are cretins who don't care about anything, but sooner or later they will close the door from the outside... my message is simple, CA gives us the possibility of approaching talented people who offer quality work for free, simply in exchange for loyalty If we do not respect that, accounts will be closed and a great community will be smaller and more exclusive.

Regarding the issue of whether you design with legal or pirated software, come on... that corresponds to the moral formation of each person, I will not think about anyone's wallet, everyone knows what they are doing, we are already quite adults. .

Edited December 30, 2023 by PeacePuma

[+Sundowner 4,583]

8 hours ago, Wrench said:

Blender and the charity of others with MAX????

 

 

But you still need an "old" and no longer available legally version of max to use the TW exporter.

The whole SF series owes it's success and long life to three things;

1, TK making it "user friendly" in the first place.

2, The "leaked/stolen" F-4E model.

3, Dodgy software.

[bazillius 1,254]

People, we are all 45+ years old here, but we behave like children in a sandbox. He stole my plastic scoop, plastic bucket which I gave him as a gift. All the complainers make it very difficult to modify the game. When you post a modification, someone is bound to complain about something. As a result, each team makes its own aircraft and does not share it with anyone. How can you say that something was stolen from you if you gave it yourself? You did something, just don’t share it. If it were not for the constant squabbles on the site, there would be many more modifications. 

[+daddyairplanes 9,238]

 

47 minutes ago, bazillius said:

He stole my plastic scoop, plastic bucket which I gave him as a gift.

di you buy the plastic scoop and bucket at the store, or put time and material in to make it yourself?

did he use the spoon and bucket for his personal use, or is he giving it out to others? if he's giving it out to others does he at least say you gave it to hi, or claim that the plastic items were always his?

those readmes that are in almost every mod arent random words for the hell of it, they are poor man EULAs. slightly less binding than what you also dont read from EA or Blizzard; slightly less because our legal teams are much smaller than the corporations.

but the terms are pretty generous really, especially for no money. every mod i've ever seen says at a minimum

This package and any part of it may NOT in any way, shape, or form be used in any payware additions.  

and

The names of all contributors, modders, suppliers, etc =MUST= be listed

simply put, dont make your own money off my work and if you use it for anything, give me due credit for creating the base of what your using.

and yes even making videos can be making money, if they were to become popular enough to be monetized or whatever adding commercials to a video is called these days. which is why alot of people create videos; seeing the tik tok stars and hoping to make money off it too

 

[bazillius 1,254]

1 hour ago, daddyairplanes said:

 

di you buy the plastic scoop and bucket at the store, or put time and material in to make it yourself?

 

Facepalm....  I just remember what this site was like in 2009-2015. Everyone played and enjoyed the game and shared planes. The site had many partners. Nowadays people sometimes ask me, “Oh, where did you get this plane?” I answer that from THIS site but its now deleted! From combatace. If a 50-year-old man likes to find out whose plastic bucket and plastic scoop is whose and shout mom, they offend me.... Instead of playing together. I do not understand this.

I can now point out a dozen packs that contain planes from currently “unfriendly” modders. Let me complain too? we will remove dozens of mods. There are planes here that have elements that I made, but no one asked me for permission to publish. Let's delete everything? Should we start listing these mods?

[bazillius 1,254]

Mommy! mommy!  my shared plastic scoop, plastic bucket was stolen! aaaaaaaaaaaaaahh.....

[bazillius 1,254]

I don’t know how it is in your countries, but in our country it’s customary to give away old toys that your child doesn’t play with for free in the sandbox and playground. For free. Just bring it and leave it.  Hysterics are sometimes the same. But this is among 5 year old children. 50 year old kids don't throw tantrums like that. It's funny to read about this huricane in a bowl of soup.

Edited December 30, 2023 by bazillius