Wow, what good timing to see this as I’ve been out of action for a few months, but felt it important to respond to this. The original YAP project has a complicated history, and as someone who has been around since the very beginning, I’ve seen firsthand the issues that arose. Assets stolen directly from CombatAce modders and others, used without permission from nearly every category including terrains, aircraft, ground objects, effects and so on. In addition, it included numerous model rips from commercial games, “Russian” hosting sites, and so on. You also had many incidents where YAP artists/contributors were not being fairly paid, their intellectual property being abused and so on. Then monetization of the project leveraging existing freeware and stolen assets greatly complicated things. It was frustrating to say the least and obviously at that time caused a community divide.
But time marches on. With John’s passing, a new leader took over and I’m going to be the first to acknowledge the march towards improvement. He has taken significant strides to address these piracy and theft concerns, and build something more respectful and ethical. Many mistakes have been corrected and problematic assets removed when possible. It’s not perfect, there is still cleanup needed and questionable models still exist. But let’s be completely honest here, shall we? Even sometimes renowned projects and assets here face the same challenges with “interesting model acquisitions.” So I bring that up in transparency, since it wouldn’t be fair to single out YAP-RW for that.
While there’s still room for improvement—some of their modeling team certainly do better in maintaining higher ethical standards -- at least the leadership has demonstrated a clear willingness to course-correct and take greater care. I also appreciate the new protective clause they’ve added: "All models/assets in our project cannot be used anywhere else without our direct permission. They remain exclusive to this project as John would have wanted, allowing us to better manage artist permissions and prevent future concerns." This statement not only honors the project’s legacy but also helps establish better boundaries to protect the artists and their work.
While the journey isn’t perfect, the team’s effort to rebuild YAP-RW with integrity deserves recognition. A hearty congratulations, the amount of effort put forth is amazing, especially the care given to the missions. Count me in. They’re on the right path, and I hope they continue to refine their practices and earn the broader trust and support of this community.
Swambast