BRUTAL HEXEN RPG (ZDL Edition) v4.7

[eierfrucht]

1. Might I obtain the megawad?

2. Is there a reference manual for this mod or it will teach me how to play it by itself?

3. Please, please create a Neuro Upscale pack for the mod. Who even plays with vanilla graphics in 2021 when the neuro pack feels like vanilla but looks so much better.

[irontusk341]

Have you discussed with AndrewMRX on adding his PBR materials to Brutal Hexen RPG?

[ZDL_800]

Hello Irontusk hope you are good.

Not really because I'm spending a huge amount of time with the Ai neural for the same artistic style. Also you would need to render all the textures and sprites again the same art style too large of a task right now.

I prefer this art style on Hexen.

Thanks again.

[DarkShroom]

Hi Might i obtain this megawad so i can play this mode

thanks

[irontusk341]

Hello Irontusk hope you are good.

Not really because I'm spending a huge amount of time with the Ai neural for the same artistic style. Also you would need to render all the textures and sprites again the same art style too large of a task right now.

I prefer this art style on Hexen.

Thanks again.

thanks hanging in there, waiting for MSI to finish putting a new keyboard on my laptop.

[ZDL_800]

Hello and thanks for the replies much appreciated.

Sent everyone a DM.

Regarding the Ai neural, yes indeed the next update will have a big improvement, if all goes to plan, should be ready in 9 days!

Irontusk that's a shame about the laptop, hope all is well soon!

Thanks again.

[eierfrucht]

Since I'm a newly registered user and can't send PMs I'm going to reply to ZDL_800's PM right here.

Nice try, bro. Over the last two decades I've seen dozens of brilliant modders but you are the first one to attempt shekeleering (User was banned for the mental gymnastics involved in justifying this word. -ww) under the guise of 'PM me for a megawad link'. No I'm not gonna support you on Patreon because hiding mod content behind paywalls is a practice I don't endorse.

[eierfrucht]

Was banning him an absolute necessity?

He could have been asked to remove the paywall by moving the project to a free-for-all platform, where he could have posted his PayPal ID for willing donors, which (from my experience) would have earned him more than the seedy paywall practice — as well as no longer verging on piracy.

The MegaWAD can be legally packaged as a binary patch that accepts two commercial Wads as input and produces the MegaWAD as output — even if some 90% of output is gonna be unique data not derived from the existing data chunks in commercial Wads this is still legal because you physically can't have the MEGAWAD unless you own the commercial WADs due to the remaining 10% of data, also you can't extract and put to any meaningful use any copyrighted data stored within the binary patch 'cause that's how binary patches go about.

Writing this in case ZDL_800 reconsiders his ways and sets out to do something to request an unban while still keeping the MEGAWAD approach and an avenue for voluntary donations strictly for his work — not for access to copyrighted bytes.

[wildweasel]

The MegaWAD can be legally packaged as a binary patch that accepts two commercial Wads as input and produces the MegaWAD as output — even if some 90% of output is gonna be unique data not derived from the existing data chunks in commercial Wads this is still legal because you physically can't have the MEGAWAD unless you own the commercial WADs due to the remaining 10% of data, also you can't extract and put to any meaningful use any copyrighted data stored within the binary patch 'cause that's how binary patches go about.

Here's the thing, though: this was already something I suggested to him, half a year ago. He gave some excuse about it being "buggy with co-op stats" and shrugged it off that he was fine distributing the megawad normally - which tells me he didn't fully understand what the problem was.

Moreover, though, the fact that he moved said megawad distribution behind a Patreon paywall, and has said that he knows that distributing the already-compiled megawad on this forum "would get [him] banned"... not to mention a handful of us on staff are getting fairly tired of having to approve posts by newly-registered members who are only here to ask "Can I have the megawad?"

So, honestly, if ZDL was willing to go to the effort of doing this legally, to distribute it as a patch instead of a precompiled thing, and not literally charge money for it, then we might have considered not booting him out. But because he hasn't already gone to that effort, and threatened to distribute "nasty" stuff about one of our staff in retaliation - AND raised a fuss about it on another forum - that doesn't speak well to his intent.

[eierfrucht]

He gave some excuse about it being "buggy with co-op stats" and shrugged it off that he was fine distributing the megawad normally - which tells me he didn't fully understand what the problem was.

Wait, wut? The whole point of the binary patch approach is to produce a byte-perfect copy of his intended MegaWAD.

But because he hasn't already gone to that effort, and threatened to distribute "nasty" stuff about one of our staff in retaliation - AND raised a fuss about it on another forum - that doesn't speak well to his intent.

I'm honestly not meaning to be racist but what you say is a very good summary of er... certain cultural attitudes seen as a norm among a majority of people originating from the former Soviet republics and the so-called Desi region. I'm saying this as someone who's been born and spent most of their life in Russia. Everyone sees themselves as a genius and all forms of law enforcement are regarded as but a nuisance on behalf of people 'not quite as smart as oneself'. Stealing intellectual property is not considered stealing while selling it just because you can paywall stuff is still OK ('pay me unless you can download it from a third party source'). I have not witnessed this worldview outside of 'Russiasphere' and 'Indosphere', where it is literally the cultural norm.

The thing is, people who stick with this 'norm' will only consider reevaluating when they face a real obstacle — a ban, a cease & desist notice, a hosting takedown. Non-violent measures like attempting to negotiate without a clearly outlined threat of retribution only make such people more confident in the negotiators' assumed 'foolishness' and 'weakness', thus branding their suggested approach as inferior and therefore even more negligible.

Russian modding scene of all games and hobbyist projects is literally riddled with this kind of people. Well you might have heard about a certain fairly recent 'Doom Remake', Bethesda's reaction and the compilation author's resulting opinion on everybody opposing him on legal or ethical grounds... The mod's development went underground and its creator grew delusionally phobic of anyone speaking English — quite in line with the West Is Dumb myth.

If my guess is right and it's a culturally ingrained attitude here at play, the only kind of diplomacy that would work is gun diplomacy. Which I sincerely regret.

[JacenXtreme]

I am gonna say that I understand the frustrations of the staff here when it comes to this topic. (This is probably gonna be a huge mistake on my part.)

But threatening the administrator... Was not the right call on the author's part. That is flat-out in the wrong. And as someone who is against piracy in media, I did raise awareness about this situation. But what drives me insane is that some people may think about witch-hunting if they are new to this case.

I want to speak from personal experience and say white-knighting does not solve anything, except make your intended target look like a hero.

Now, if you'll excuse me. I need a vacation.

[phantombeta]

Well you might have heard about a certain fairly recent 'Doom Remake', Bethesda's reaction and the compilation author's resulting opinion on everybody opposing him on legal or ethical grounds... The mod's development went underground and its creator grew delusionally phobic of anyone speaking English — quite in line with the West Is Dumb myth.

For what it's worth, there was actually no "reaction" from Bethesda. The supposed C&D they received was completely fake, and probably an attempt to garner sympathy from the community, since it was pretty much tearing them a new one for stealing the mods they put/used in "Doom Remake 4".

[DarkShroom]

Since I'm a newly registered user and can't send PMs I'm going to reply to ZDL_800's PM right here.

Nice try, bro. Over the last two decades I've seen dozens of brilliant modders but you are the first one to attempt shekeleering under the guise of 'PM me for a megawad link'. No I'm not gonna support you on Patreon because hiding mod content behind paywalls is a practice I don't endorse.

yeah i notice this

the guy is appropriating IP by putting the actual content from the Hexen wads behind a paywall, even distributing the Megawad is not strictly legal but i figured "tolerated" given we already own the Hexen wads and it's just combining them

however using this strategy to make money from a patreon ?!? wtf, this needs to be banned ... now we know why you have to ask for a PM

[eierfrucht]

The supposed C&D they received was completely fake

Oh thanks for pointing out what I apparently missed. There wasn't a single gaming media outlet in my country that hadn't taken the bait. The headlines were all like, Zenimax lawyers are after a modder because they don't want the players to have nice things.

for stealing the mods they put/used in "Doom Remake 4"

As someone from that person's native culture I assure you, compiling and/or redistributing others' work without consent is not even remotely considered stealing among 'us'; whilst all attempts at claiming copyright, be it formal (backed by law) or informal (based on civil ethics), are viewed as genuinely evil. «You've gotta be an asshole to protest against someone reusing your work to 'improve' on it or compile a 'masterpiece'» ('cuz everyone thinks themselves the only real genius on the block).

Even that modder's name, Vasyan777, is a homage to Васян666 (Vasyan666), a stock name like John Doe or Mary Sue basically meaning 'someone who mods the heck out of games knowing neither measure nor obstacle, and proud of it'. It's the equivalent of 'thug life' with touches of 'leet', just modding-wise. A name like Vasyan777 basically means Vasyan666 Mk. II and lives quite up to that person's ethos.

[irontusk341]

im gone for two days working my weekend doubles, and this happens. its a shame. of all the times he PMed me i dont recall any patreon requests, at least within the last month or so.