MikeyPI

What I would like you to do is this:

Delete the logfile.

Load the game:

Play Mayberry mod 'till crash. (log the estimated time it ran before crash)

Cut logfile and paste to desktop, rename it mayberry crash log.

Load game again:

Play LA mod 'till crash. (log the estimated time it ran before crash)

Cut logfile and paste to desktop, rename it LA crash log.

Load game again:

Play default game (no mod) 'till crash (log the estimated time it ran before crash)

Cut logfile and paste to desktop, rename it default crash log.

Once that is done post them here and I will look at them independently to see what the common problems are (if applicable).

From my perspective it sounds like the computer is running out of resources, which the game is known to have a memory bleed (remember memory bleed doesnt just mean physical ram alone).  When I say running out of resources it can mean the GPU is being overtaxed, the CPUs, or the Ram.  Once I see your logfiles from those scenarios I've asked for above I can try to give you a few more possible things to try that may make a difference.  I had a similar setup to yours and mine was stable with the game, albeit with some lag when the lights got excessive so there is probably a way to get it to work with some stability on yours.

As I asked before have you tried running the default game or something like Hoopah's LA mod (unaltered) to see if it still crashes after a specific duration.   Your comp has an integrated chipset (amd).  I had a similar chipset on one of my laptops and it ran the game, albeit lighting was prone to causing lag.  Until you have either tried the default game and/or LA mod or similar low-demand spec mod I cannot speak further for your situation.

Looking @ your DX diag your machine has a total of 6 gigs ram, of which roughly 5.6 is available for the os to start with, your video card "dedicated" memory is the missing portion of the 6 gigs... Your OS will consume around 1 gig it's self just for the normal operation of the system at a minimum. Leaving around 4.6 gigs +/- for programs/operations..  But realize your video card has the ability to consume more of the physical memory if it is similar to the AMD chipset I had previously, so it is possible it is consuming more memory for the video card than the "dedicated" 500 mb or so it takes off the bat.

Whatever is left after that, would be around (ballparking) 3 gigs can go to the video card, 1 gig for the system run, leaving 2 gigs for the game and other applications to run on if the video card chews all that it can.  Make sure that when trying to play the game you shut down any anti-viruses you have running on your machine, some of them will try to check the game as it runs (because it runs scripts) and that can cause excessive resource consumption.  But ultimately, the computer is not ideal for gaming, so try the things I've suggested above before I can even consider any other alternatives you may try.  Obviously, make sure the computer is set to "high performance" for it's power setting and not power saver or balanced as they will reduce the available power to the machine.

Moderator note:

Don't double post like that please, you asked yesterday and did not really need to ask any help today... One day is not really enough to call a topic missed by people, and while I understand that you really want help to get this resolved, it really isnt appropriate to double post on this forum, especially when such a small time has passed since you've last posted.

The copy uploaded very well may be corrupted, that error comes about from a "bad" copy of the modification, not anything wrong with your particular game.

Try to re-download the modifications, delete the existing file packages, clear your internet cache for your browser and re-download...  Means that the mod didnt download completely or correctly.

I guess better late than never applies here, but if you're issues are not resolved try providing the DX diagnosis to us for your machine.

Windows key+R

type in 

dxdiag

run

once it is done compiling press the "save all information" button 

Once you have that saved to your desktop or somewhere else handy, come back here and make a post using the "more reply options" button and you will see "Attach files" at the bottom of the posting window, attach the DX Diag and we'll look at it and see what you've got going on.

@ Soupl your computer is trying to use winrar to open the .mod file.  This modification uses the modinstaller to install the mods, so you need to open the file with the modinstaller, which came with the game, not winrar.

Beasty Is correct, unfortunately it's a one-way trip once it goes into the game, if I remember right 16T put theirs out for the original maps as jpeg, hoop puts his out as well, so they are a starting-point.. Just remember do not get rid of your floormap when it's imported into the game, just in case you want to or need to alter it later, you can't get it back out once it is in.  Thus you gotta keep the raw file to the map before you put it into the game.  When it goes into the game it has to be a TGA texture.

I do not find it selfish in the least to wish this to be resolved, I think, outside of maybe a small fringe group most people wish this could be resolved so that everyone can go back to what they set out to do.  With the state of things though, people who do take the time to make new things have taken a pause with their efforts (myself included) unless there is some sort of mutual understanding and respect to speak of, we cannot push forth as a community.  That lies within the community it's self to come to a consensus as to what they are willing to do and what they're willing to respect as the wishes of the people taking the time to make the things they enjoy.

As many others have said, when you take the time to create the things you do, you have a certain regard for them because they are rather important to you, when people just walk all over them (and by proxy you) it is rather offensive.  When it becomes clear that more of the community than just a fringe group feels it's ok to do so, that's when there's a problem.  That is ultimately what has led us here to where we are today, people who do take the time frankly feel as though they've been disregarded for the time they invest for the sake of having just more of the same released in rapid-fire, which satisfies some perhaps but at a cost if the people who made those things possible are harmed in the process.

If we as a community can consolidate this rift and return to a place of mutual respect for the end-user, alteration modders, and original creators the community will get stronger as a whole from this episode.  If it is to be that people believe some people should get special treatment, or that for the sake of having more mods out there the original creators can be disregarded just to keep the content coming, the original creators will cease to provide.  The end result of such a thing would mean nothing new for anyone to enjoy as everyone who can do it will move on to a less hostile environment for them.  The reason this community has stayed around so long is because of the mutual respect that as of late, has been neglected, and without it you have anarchy.

Hopefully people can learn to get along and recognize how things stand, and how they have to change to go forth and come to a consensus as to how to go about it, if people can't get along and agree then everyone as a whole will lose.

It is indeed just wrong from our viewpoint, but it seems alotta people want to do that right now, it isnt quite the same as you know I got it from X mod and they got it from Y mod and Y mod got it from god knows where, so it gets lost in translation as it goes along.. In most these cases it's been that someone directly takes it from the source and doesnt credit the source of the stuff, and that's a problem..  An accidental omission is pretty easy to fix, but some people out there right now are intentionally out of either being lazy or just negligent are failing to do the due process to ensure that the right people are credited for the right things that they did.

When the documentation is out of whack in mods, it's what ultimately causes a good number of these problems, because what starts off like u know itchie made this truck, it then by about 3 mods in is completely lost that it came from him in the first place, so he isnt getting credit due at all for his work anymore, that is a problem.  And the way people are treating this is that many out there right now feel it's no big deal that these people are not being credited, and that their permission/credit requirements are not met.  That is the part that is the shame, because it was never that way on this forum before, and it should not be now.  Most of the modders want to get credit for the hard work they do, and in my eyes with the time it takes to do the stuff from the ground-up, it isnt unreasonable for them to get their due credit that is being used by others.

Most the time in dealing with these issues it should just come down to you did something wrong (intentional or not), here is what the author wants done to fix it, apologize for the mistake and move forward... When people get defensive and flat out deny any wrongdoing and hem and haw and create a big stink over it, it not only makes the issue more complicated, but lines up the trolls looking for an excuse to misbehave, and they do..  What could have been settled with a "you know I think my credits are in order, but if I made a mistake please advise me of it and what I must do to correct this error so we can move on" ends up being a big stink that results in tons of time wasted by everyone involved, and alotta ruffled feathers for all parties involved.  Most the time, most people just want to be credited appropriately for what they did do, take a look at the original LA mod documentation, it lists everyone and what they were responsible for, that is what people really should be doing.  Unfortunately most are not, many as of late are not even providing any documentation for their mods what so ever, which in a reskin mod simply should not be happening since they got the content from somewhere.

Thats the point of trying to get people to willingly update their readmes to be as clear and concise as possible to list everyone who did what and what they did... It ensures the right people are credited for what they did do, especially if someone sees something in a mod they want to use, but it is not the original author's mod they still know who to credit properly.  I hope people will start to come to this way of thinking since it will ultimately benefit the community as a whole if everyone is credited clearly in every mod.  It will take some time for everyone to do this, but it serves the community better to have better documentation and hopefully prevent mis-communications and credit mistakes.  It is far less time to have to document clearly than to have to redo all the content in a mod, I'd go with option A if I had alotta people's content in my mod rather than shooting myself in the foot having to remake it all since I was not crediting people that I should.

Your proposal isnt a bad idea for true things that are open to take as-is, but you'd be amazed how little content that ultimately is, which is where the line kind of got lost.. For the vast majority of the authors it actually comes down to crediting them where it's due.  I'm one of them that simply asks to you to contact me to use my content, and most the time I am willing to grant that permission for use with the condition of crediting me for what you use.. It is actually very very small minority that outright want nobody using their stuff at all, under any conditions at all.  But in each case they should have their rights to choose what to do with it.

Perhaps there is room to have totally open-sourced content represented, that is a very easy option to add a directory in the download center/and create the subcat on the forum for this...  Depending on how people feel about it, that can be done relatively fast.  Ultimately though, I don't believe there will be that much content provided for it, because as I said the sticking point for most people is that they want to be credited for their work. That is kinda where the rub lies in the whole thing.  And ultimately we can't have people who've taken someone else's work, reworked it a bit and in turn trying to put it into the open-source department, that would be just as unfair as stealing it outright.. 

If someone genuinely makes their content and wants to make it totally open, don't credit at all and all of that stuff, that is their right, but the other people's rights have to be respected as well.. I just wish people would document their mods better, and ultimately that people would read the documentation to figure out who's stuff is who's if they want to use it.  It'd save alotta headaches which have resulted from missing such a minor step.. Trust me when I say it is much much easier to read the file, pm the guy and work out how I can use it rather than having to make it from the ground up, so if thats what they ask me to do I'd rather do that than have nothing at all to use.

@ thechucky:

The forums as they stand will continue as they are, regardless of the current discussion going on within the community.  Hoppah and I have decided to cease modding for the time being, perhaps permanently depending on how this situation is resolved (if this situation is resolved).  We have a wait and see attitude for resuming the modification, but both of us intend to still be present on this site, just not in a modding capacity as of this moment.  The site it's self and the forums will stay up regardless of recent events.  What we cannot predict is how everyone will proceed forward, and ultimately that is up to the community as a whole to iron out, not any one or two members.

@jakethejake

Ultimately it may not be your intentions to come off as though it is "stealing", but that tends to be the end-result with open-sourced content.  What people ultimately are up in arms about is the fact that they have no say what so ever with regard to the content that they did put the time into, and ultimately it should be their say into how their content is to be used.. Should someone wish to "give it to the people" and allow them to do what they so desire, no credit conditions at all, that would be their choice.. That being said, those who wish for nobody to touch a thing at all should be respected as well, ultimately everyone has their own intentions and desires, but regardless those who do the work deserve the credit and respect when it comes to what their wishes are.

Perhaps it would serve the community to have everything be just take what you want, or it could deter new content from being created when someone puts so much time into something to have it just re-used 400 times and ultimately forgotten where it came from.  As I've said people seem to be going to one extreme or the other with their views, either it's give everyone everything no matter what, or nobody gets anything.  As far as the people I know are involved, they want neither of those scenarios but something far more moderate in the middle, which ultimately is their right to want that, especially if it's their content involved.  

The mods never really ever "rolled off the shelves" and never really would, if you mean by a new reskin mod with absolutely no new dynamics or content added, merely the same items that are already available mixed and matched together and wishing to call that a full mod, then yes that would be the end result.  Never before in this community has more content been available for use in the history of this game, never before was all of the content open to a free-for-all take what you want process either.. There has always been a respect for the authors of the content and ultimately respect for their wishes (with the exception of a fringe group).  

Without the respect for the new content guys, there arent any new or interesting things to be made, so everything will get repetitive and "worn out", not unlike the original game it's self, but at the same time without having some system of permissions/credits, no new guys can start out either.  Everyone recognizes these facts, but the people making new content wish to have their rights to pick and choose how their content is to be used/credited, and ultimately given the time they take to make the content I believe personally that to be only fair.  Should someone wish to allow anyone to use their content without so much as crediting them, that is their choice, but it is also the choice of the guy who wants to have restrictions and conditions to have those as well.. This is what compromise is all about, and ultimately while many may not agree, the people making the stuff should have more say in how it's handled than the end-user does.

As I said the Dyson situation to me is over, as long as he rectifies the issues with regard to what he "borrowed" to use your term by either crediting me for it and noting where it came from, as that content has a restriction to simply ask for my permission to use it, so it has to have that.  Or, alternatively he can remove that content if he should desire, either way does not matter to me.  The part that seems lost in translation is the fact that it even came to pass that the content was where it should not have been in the first place.  That is to my eyes is the mistake everyone is making in trying to defend the situation, they took some shortcuts they should not have, and it's a shame and fairly easy to fix, but to dismiss the fact for whatever justifications anyone wishes to come up with, shows a disregard to the original author of the content (in this case myself as well as others).  As it stands, that is what most of the original content creators are concerned in regard to, because as it happens more often, and it becomes more acceptable, they are realizing that their effort simply put is marginalized for the sake of having more content faster and if it can happen to one, it will happen to others as well.

As I said people have to come to a compromise in this situation, as it stands neither side will "win" if it is to be an extreme on either side of this debate that must be right.  In compromise nobody wins, but in gridlock nobody wins either, there is going to be no "winner" or "loser" unless the same impasse continues as it is, then everyone ultimately will lose as a result of this. Everyone seems to think that it is impossible to gain access to content the "proper way" (which is to ask for it from the authors where required, and to credit them) as opposed to the reality that it is far easier to ask someone about using something or reading the documentation included in the original package to see what the conditions are instead of having to make it from the ground up.  Nobody is saying that nothing should be shared at all, but that it should be completely at the author's discretion as to how they wish to proceed with the things that they've worked on and how they want to share it/not share it, not a mutiny situation where people get out the pitchforks to try to force them into giving control of their content up.  That simply isnt fair no matter how you slice it.

If y'all feel that the Brooklyn team isn't playing fair, then beat them at their own game. Release a better mod with more features. Use their stuff to do so. Hell, Hoppah put this game on the map. Now you're all just gonna up and quit? I don't get it. The rules of the game are changing. I say use these "new rules" to your advantage.

I'll overview the rest, we actually have no problem with variety, truth be told most people who just play the mods don't realize that from an author's perspective we actually try to not compare our works, as each and every one has a different intention and ultimately a different intended audience.  Some want that "sandbox" feel, some want to have that "realistic" some go for role-playing, some MP, some target only SP, some want to be closer to the original game's intent.. To each their own as they say, and they all ultimately have a place to exist, but every one of them out there that does exist should at least play by the rules as far as the original content creator's wishes go and ultimately adhere to them (whether they agree with them or not)

The fundamental problem is best summed up with your statement that I've highlighted.  The content creators, myself included do not want to just turn around and steal from other's works just to "get even", that isnt what it is ultimately about.  The creators are having a serious problem with the fact that everyone feels the rules are  changing and this is acceptable, most of these people who feel it's acceptable are not the ones putting the time/effort into the new things, so they have no concept of what actually goes into it.  That will never be reconciled, that I'm sure since you really cannot understand something fully if you're not the one doing it, no more than I can speak to being a firefighter and what that entails.  

Those of us who are trying to create content are not comfortable with the fact that our content will not be respected in this current environment, knowing full well that it is highly likely to be sent through a chop-shop on the first day it's out there, gives little incentive to carry forth for us.  The  concept of just do onto others as they've done to you does not really apply to us, because ultimately what potential gain do we have if it's largely certain people providing the content, and everyone else taking advantage of it.. We're certainly not going to steal from one another, since most of us are on the same page with what is expected when it comes to permissions/credits.  We as a community must determine what is to be deemed reasonable, but as one of the content creators I can say for myself and my part in it, that I am uncomfortable with people just taking whatever of mine they wish and re-branding it as NFK has said above, that is not only ethically an issue but undermines my effort invested in the first place.

Everyone wants to make it out as though everyone wants the content to go into fort knox and that to be the end of it, sad truth is most of us don't even want close to that.  Most of the ones I know out there want to know their work will be respected, their permission requirements and credit requirements met, and they are perfectly happy to go forth.  They do not want people to assume it's okey to just take their content as their own and forget to recognize where it came from in the first place, and worse yet be targeted for standing up for what is rightfully theirs in the process.  As long as this "community" wants to be a community, there has to be a level of mutual respect from all parties involved, while some people deem it unreasonable and would like to just turn the community into a free-for-all where you just take what you want, use it as you want, and don't have to worry about anyone else's credit due, most of the people who have and will in the future provide that custom-content that allows for the progression of the game's evolution won't find that to be in their best interest.  As such, they will likely move onto other things, em4 is not the end-all for modding possibilities, in truth it's actually pretty limiting from a developer's perspective, people can move on and ultimately if the community cannot come to some middle ground on this issue it may be what people are left with.

Hoppah ultimately summed up both of our feelings fairly well, everyone would like to blame any one particular incident for what has transpired and regardless to what is said, will continue to feel this way.. The fact is, Dyson and I while having an dispute, that we ultimately managed to discuss and resolve with relatively little pain between ourselves (remember Dyson, the NY mod stuff isnt open-sourced so you'll have to modify your credits to denote them sep. of the LA stuff since they still require permissions to use), the underlying issues don't just stop with he and I alone.  The reality is this issue runs much much deeper than any two parties and won't be resolved just by two parties discussing their own problems between one another.  The issue and the resulting aftermath have brought to light things that people have taken to heart that must be addressed as a community as a whole.

This community over time has slowly moved away from the middle ground of respecting the authors of content (regardless to if you agree with them and their choices for permissions/credits or not) and has become a place where not only is it acceptable to take content from others, but in fact is expected to be perfectly fine to do so.  From the author's perspective it was thought to be a "fringe" element that thought this way, but as time has progressed it has became more mainstream to feel this way, and now the authors are taking notice of it.  Add in the fact that when someone attempts to stand up for what they worked on, people not only get defensive but also downright hostile with regards to the original authors, instead of holding the individual who ultimately was in the wrong by taking their stuff, it is not hard to understand why they're feeling how they are.

Love it or leave it, in order for this community to function as a whole, there does have to be some level of respect for those who provide the content, as much as those who wish to use it, and ultimately those who wish to consume the end products.  As with anything, when things get too far out of control, it requires a "push" back from something that ultimately took months, if not years to degrade to the worsened state it is in.  Nothing happens overnight, but ultimately when things go too far out of hand, someone has to step in and try to set them back to the middle, so ultimately I cannot say NFK was wrong with the push to try to fix the credit debacles of late and hopefully restore some confidence in author's rights to content they put the time into creating it..

As a whole, lately it seems that it's "no big deal" or "minor" transgressions in the eyes of most, I can tell you from an author's perspective that has taken their time to put it into the work that is sourced or flat out taken it is not so minor to them, you may disagree with their viewpoint but you should at least respect their right to have that perspective, and ultimately it is their choice how to handle such transgressions.  To not only minimize their concerns, but also degrade, dismiss, and ultimately bash the users who wish to have their rights protected when it is their choice to take the time to create the things the community as a whole should get to enjoy is ultimately what offends these people so much.  Most creators are not that extreme with their feelings on content, most share with the caveat they are appropriately credited for their efforts, some require that you ask permission before you use their content, there are even some that flat out do not wish it to be used in a public release, in any case though it is that author's choice how they wish to handle credit and their choices should be respected (even if not agreed with).  When the author's are not respected as they should be, it gives them little incentive to continue to contribute anything at all, if they know that they will receive no recognition for their effort, and ultimately while it may be a hobby, people still wish to be recognized for what they do.

People like to say that "well it happens everywhere, so why should you expect different" as an excuse, yeah well crime happens everywhere too, it doesnt mean it should be an accepted practice and just allow it to continue to happen.  What was once a "fringe" group of people who had no qualms about stepping on people's toes to get to their own end has become more accepted and mainstream, ultimately the content makers have taken notice and wish it to cease to be accepted.  If the consumers and the creators cannot come to an understanding and rectify this situation, and decide that just because something happens doesnt mean it's right that it does, they have absolutely no incentive to keep going.  Just because something happens does not mean it's ethical nor acceptable, there was a time here on this forum when it was unacceptable to do things intentionally, I for one am not speaking of the accidental omissions of crediting, but the times when someone is flat out denying any wrongdoing but ultimately turns out to be guilty. There must be a case-by-case basis applied to each scenario, but if people take the time to document as they go and genuinely put in the time to keep track of who owns what and follow their permissions, it will go a long way towards ending these issues.  Think of how much time it takes to ask for something and/or credit it vs the time necessary to have to make the same thing yourself.

If this community as a whole cannot cease the conduct that is currently going on, there will be a permanent rift that will result in nobody winning.  The people creating the content will simply move on, thus removing the new features/content that keeps this aged game going, if on the other hand nobody is allowed to use anything at all there will be no future modders to carry on the torch.  Somewhere in the middle lies a resolution that everyone will have to compromise to get to, if people continue to refuse to attempt to reach that compromise there will be nothing new to speak of, nor new people to create new things since there will be no incentive to continue going forth.  Ultimately the choice lies with everyone in this community to cease the bickering and flaming and start working towards a resolution, if nobody is willing to try to do that, you'll get what you want in the form of nothing to look forward to.

For my part in it, I would love to see this community reconcile and return to a reasonable standard of respect for one another, but I don't know if that is possible.  As I've already said this issue isnt about any one party or any two parties, it goes to the state of the whole community, unless that community can get a whole lot more civil and a whole lot more responsible there is no way to compromise to an end result.  I ultimately agree with hoopah that we will still be around, but as far as modding goes in it's current state we cannot move forth with this project without recognizing that as it currently stands the mod will not be respected.  As a modder putting in the time we just cannot be comfortable knowing we've invested more time for a project that's likely fate is to be like a lamb to the slaughter to be torn apart from day-1, regardless of the time and effort we've put into it.  Hopefully as we sit back from modding and watch the way things seem right now will slowly change to a more civil environment where there can be some confidence in people respecting the content, and ultimately those who've created it.

Well, they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, I wonder what it is then when someone just takes yours as their own...  I can't personally see it as flattery, but perhaps that's just me.  If not for the fact that we've already went down this road once before, and were given word that it would be resolved then I figured this would no longer be a problem.  Apparently taking this issue in good faith was a serious mistake, and I gave too much credit to the level of respect people are capable of.  There is a difference between accidentally doing something, and knowingly with full intention taking advantage of something. The first time something like this happens it's possible it's a misunderstanding, the second time it happens from the same people it's just pathetic.

What people fail to grasp is the level of time invested to do this type of hobby, time that could be placed into other things instead.  It is of course "not a big deal" when you're not the one actually taking the time and putting your effort into something, so I do not expect anyone who does not do it to understand my feelings..  I would expect other modders to grasp the concept though, and the flat out disregard for this just frankly speaks to a situation where people just prove their character for what it really is.  I've put a good deal of my time and energy into this project, working when I could to try to improve the modification as I went along and ultimately gained experience.  When it came to people asking to use the things that I put the time into, I simply asked to be informed so I knew where and how it was being used, and usually I let people have at it.  When people are just taking things without even so much as a common courtesy, that is a problem, but to take something and claim it as your own, that is just ignorant.

I don't figure that the community as a whole will frankly care what's transpired, more or less just figure "but that's toys you're taking away from me", and in fact it very well may, which is a shame.. Ultimately though it falls on the offenders for the faults in their actions that out of respect one would hope they would be up front about, but time and again people prove incapable of that courtesy, yet expect the respect they're incapable of giving to others...  The problem going forth is that I value my time greatly, and don't enjoy feeling it's being wasted, when someone is not only taking things that I put effort into, but taking them and not even using them in a different way from the way that I did, it really sits badly with me. Couple that with the indignant belief it's acceptable to not only take things but claim them as yours, yet expect people to credit you for yours speaks to an egotistical hypocrisy.

This community was intended to be a collaborative place where people could share and work together on things, ultimately it has become a place of givers and takers.  Where people have no qualms about stomping over anyone else so long as they get what they want out of it, which is fine if that's what you want to have, I certainly don't think it's an ethical way to be.  Take the time to think about the time invested by the people before you screw em over, for you it may only take 15 minutes but someone took the time and effort you're exploiting. This type of behavior that has become standard as of late may keep the gimmick "toys" coming that the community wants, but ultimately it also reduces the desire of people to waste their time in providing new and interesting things for the community to enjoy, if the goal is to ensure that people stop bothering to try to evolve this aged game all that has to happen is what has been a problem of late and people will stop wasting the time.

Because of how I feel regarding this stupidly ignorant scenario that has been presented, but more importantly the way in which it has been handled I figure it is not worth the hassle of wasting my time any further.  As such I am suspending this modification unless Hoop feels so inclined to continue forth with it, I can find more prudent things to do with my time rather than wasting it only to have others not only jack the things I put time into and claim them as their own, but to do so in such a way they feel compelled to be indignant when someone catches them.. The arrogance involved to think this way just boggles my mind, it ultimately comes down to respect of one another and the time and effort placed into even a hobby.. It may be "just a hobby" but it's still my time invested into this hobby, and ultimately what's the point in it if people can't even be respectful of one another when it comes down to it in the end.

For me unless something changes to drastically change my view, I'll find better uses for my time rather than trying to put new content into this ancient game that a limited number even play.  I as of right now see no reason for the effort when it'll just be hijacked without any regard what so ever for the time I put into it.  Thank you to everyone that supported what I tried to do while working on this project, it had its fun moments and was a good bit of work, but ultimately this latest affair just comes down as another example of everything that is wrong with people's viewpoints when it comes to respecting people's effort.  The reality is I can just as easily take the things I've put effort into as a hobby and sell them as opposed to making them for this game, and frankly with the lack of appreciation for the effort it certainly looks more practical to do that instead.

All you have to do is check the documentation that the original project came from... If it was available for download as a separate mod, they are usually meant to be used with proper credits (no specific permission required)

If the thing came from a mod, if the authors of the mod were the original creators of the thing you want to use, follow their readme documentation for what they require for permission.  Usually when someone's stuff is free to use in other work it will state so with the requirement of credit provided.  Ones that do not state something like this you'd have to PM the author(s) to get permission, usually a fairly fast/easy process of "hey, can I use XXXX from you for my mod, I will credit you for the original content"  If they say yes, there ya go you've just gotta credit them.

When in doubt about credit requirements fall back to contacting the original authors of the content and simply asking, usually it isnt a big deal and most authors will grant permissions to you even if it isnt allowed free to use in their readme.  All you have to do is ask them and follow the conditions they set forth for the usage and most'll be more than happy to let you do it.

It's a bit of a give and take relationship, they just want the appreciation for their effort in the work, where you get to use their work without having to put in all that time making it as they did the first time around... It's a fair trade to show them a bit of respect for the time invested and simply ask when in doubt.

It should work perfectly fine, it likely will require running as an administrator however.  Win10 isnt as far removed from windows 8.1 as they'd like you to believe, and ultimately windows 8.1 can run EM4 with relatively little pain on most configurations.. The same annoyances such as UAC still persist on 8/10 as they did on vista/7 along with requiring DX installation of an older version.. But with those issues resolved it runs fine, assuming you're upgrading you should not encounter the DX issue, that should only be present on an fresh install of 10 just as it would on any vista+ OS.

Just remember, if the game isnt trying to run on win10, run it as an admin (should not require compatibility settings, just admin).

See, that's the thing though, to the person who is wronged by issues like these, where someone takes your effort and claims it as their own there is in fact harm done.  What people fail to realize is regardless of the items in question, someone put the time and effort into making them happen.  In most instances, all that would have to be done is to ask "hey can I use this particular item for my modification, I want to use it as *whatever unit they want*".  Most people out there in this community would say, sure just give me credit for my part in it, and they're more than willing to share.  But when people directly copy or just take items someone else created without their consent it's offensive to those who did put the time into it originally, and in the instances where it goes further than just not crediting but in fact claiming total responsibility for someone else's work that is salt into the wound for the original creators.  

The "wasnt much harm done" argument even though it is unintentional, dis-respects the original individual's time and effort invested (no matter how much or little was actually involved) and will ultimately lead to people being less inclined to create new content if they believe that in the end others will just take it without consent and in some instances claim it as their own.  If you want a community with little to no content available for it (and even less brand new content), this type of conduct is the recipe to lead to that environment.  

We did not terminate this mod for this incident, where we potentially could have, but instead we are giving them the opportunity to correct the situation, and that ultimately means removing the content involved and any other related materials from the author who was wronged in this situation.  We could have went further with the issue but instead are trying to be as minimally damaging as possible, while also holding the persons at fault accountable for their intentional wrongdoing.  It is not a misunderstanding to take the time to open another's work up and take materials off of it and place it onto your own work without permission, then deny the fact you did such behaviors.  Hopefully in the future moving forth this modification and it's authors will recognize the way things have been for this community and remember in the future going forth to always ensure through the readme or direct-pm's to the authors of other content that they A. Have permission to use it and B. what conditions must be met in order to use the content.

There was a stolen content allegation levied in the DC mod topic, PaganiZonda claimed that this was not the case, so I instructed both parties to provide their source imagery and subsequently compared them... This is the investigation and the ultimate results:

Ultimately the results are in and he will be found guilty of sourcing goog's image, I believe he did use the original provided with nnico's car available for download as a base.  He ultimately cut and pasted some of goog'scontent into the vehicle's skin, the grille I do not believe to be one of those components (though possible it did not have enough similarities to be comfortable making the call on that).

Highly suspect is the window frame area, not because of the chrome specifically, there are slight differences in goog's vs zonda's in that regard, but ultimately the black portion that goes along with the chrome trim appears to be nearly identical so it is highly probable they are in fact one and the same just adjusted via a filter (IE made darker).

The door handles is again another area that is extremely suspect, the original nnico ones were black, which in of it's self isnt a big deal as that can be altered easy enough. The problem is both goog's and zonda's have identical keyhole placement and coloring, that would be highly unusual to happen so it is highly probable he sourced goog.

Lastly and ultimately the definitive problem that was encountered in the review is the trim component on the rear below the lights/trunk... This component on the original texture from nnico is black, as I've stated before it would not be impossible to believe two individuals could make this component chromed instead, especially since goog does not use a highly custom chrome trim.  The problem for it is, that it is not just a chrome strip that is present on zonda's, but also the trim markings from the black pieces on the rear of the trunk lid as well as a portion of the grey bodywork from goog's skin.  Given that zonda's vehicle allegedly was created on the original texture, those markings for where the trim ends would not have been present, as the original one did not have them.  Zonda's does, however so that is extremely unusual since he has the original black inserts for the trunk, but they are not aligned as the original ones are and should be, they have the same difference as goog's does... More important though aside from that in the rear portion is the slight defect above the trim, there is in fact a piece of "grey" texture visible, unfortunately that would not happen by mistake as evidenced looking at the white original source, the only way that could happen is copying it directly from Goog's texture, which is easy enough to verify by inspecting the color.  The colors when sourced from nearly identical locations on the area visible are identical.

The end result of the issues above leads to a definitive answer of guilt in this matter and will be addressed accordingly, the offending vehicle(s) must be removed for the modification to go forward.  Any other objects, components, textures, or other source material created by Goog shall be removed as well as he has requested immediately.  If he created or had a part in the content you may not use it for this modification and will face subsequent enforcement for violations of these terms set by the author of the sourced material.

Zonda himself will receive one additional warning point  and a subsequent suspension of approximately 15 days.  The reason for the extended suspension is due to the fact that within the course of the investigation, when asked directly via PM if he sourced any other people's textures, he stated no, but explicitly mentioned the very same modification Goog created that the sourced texture came from.  Making false statements to us is a serious problem and ultimately is the reason behind the extended vacation. 

For the time being since the primary author has to be suspended do not expect responses from him regarding this modification until his suspension expires.

There are quite a bit of units in Washington, D.C. It would not be practical to represent every single one of them.  A certain number of each type is reasonable but not every single unit.  I'd strongly urge you to check into the active units currently deployed in the D.C. Metro area.

Aside from working a full-time job or being involved in the military/other government services you also have to bear in mind some people are of an age to have families of their own, children for example and spouses.  The reality is that everyone's available time is going to vary, the things that ultimately occupy their time is totally up to them.  Being that this is a hobby, just like watching tv is for some people, you kind of have your own level of interest in your respective hobbies outside of obligations.  Things you gotta do have to come first, be it school/education, medical issues, familiy related issues, work-related all should come before a hobby.  

So it is understandable that this hobby isnt a critical priority for everyone around, but someone should reasonably assess their available free-time that they are willing to devote towards this hobby prior to starting a mod.  As it really is, you have to be willing to put in a good bit of time and effort to make a proper comprehensive mod, if you don't have that type of time to give it really is unwise to start a public mod and instead keep it private..  People kind of forget you don't have to make a mod for other people, but instead can work on your own projects for your own intentions and ultimately, when it's completed decide later to share it with the community.  I think people would be quite pleased and surprised to see completed projects appear in the first post of topics as opposed to a to-do list for a WIP in every case.

And you guys have pulled me to address this situation... How much fun for me >(

Here is how this will be resolved, each of you will be contacted individually VIA PM with a request for your skins, both NFK and I will compare the skins provided by goog and pagani.  Upon our arbitrary review of the skins, we will come to a conclusion if they are the same and if so how, as well as if content was sourced from the existing ones and altered for the new one in question.  Failure to comply to this request will have adverse results for the party that refuses to do so.  We are contacting each one of you in separate PM's to ensure that it is between only the user providing and the staff who will review, the other party won't be in these PM threads.

The final result of our review will be communicated to both users, along with what actions will be taken if any apply in the situation.  I will write the PM's to each of you shorty and will await the response from both parties so this may be resolved as expediently as possible.

Gladly compensate us at our normal hourly wages (respectively) and we will certainly start on that process

Thank you for your answer, I showcased vehicles/personnel/map edits in the London mod edit I have been working on. But I had also shown gameplay of the edits too. So I have gone through the posts with videos/pictures and updated them with the credits for the mod creators. If it needs more credits let me know who and I can add them as I don't really know what things belong to different modders.

The bolded part is ultimately what we're trying to make come to an end with this campaign.  The hope is that if everyone credits clearly and properly, it will be much easier to track down who is responsible for a work, thereby ensuring crediting is done properly...  When it comes to general game play it is unreasonable to expect you to credit every single person in a post for a 5 minute video, but it should be correct for a released modification.  We also feel it is not unreasonable to have the credits when "showcasing" a vehicle, structure, whatever...  Someone made it first, please just take the time to track down who it was that made it possible and just say "yeah here is my rework to make it XYZ thank you to  bob for the model, bill for the lightbar, and joe for the pushbumper, I am responsible for the new lighting and skin reworkings"

Something that simple goes a long way in giving credit where it's due, makes a log that anyone else who wants to use something can source to know 100% who made the stuff that is in your mod, and ultimately  ensures you get proper credit for what you did exactly as well.. It's a win all around with far less time invested to credit correctly than to have to make the content from the ground up.

Hopefully in time this will become second nature as it was in the past for people to credit things clearly which ultimately improves the whole community by making sure people know who's done what.

Yes, that's where I sourced the best options for Kane from as well, thanks for the help, I appreciate it, though as it stands it's looking like bravest is going to win unless fans of the Kane one put in a few more votes. Either way it's looking pretty close going back and forth.

The point of this is ultimately to ensure that people are properly credited along the way for their efforts that others are permitted to use.  The rub lies in that many people (whether intentional or not) fail to mention who made what that they're using, which unfortunately leads to the misconception that they are responsible for the content.   The point of this is to ensure that people are aware of and know who is responsible for what in the content, so everyone gets their proper dues for the work. The alternative of such a move could be that the original content creators become so fed up with improper crediting and/or failure to credit them and ultimately terminate the availability of the content to be used.  How would you feel if you made something and others went around misrepresenting that they are responsible for it?

The thing people gotta do is look beyond themselves and realize that other people took the time to create what you're using to get a leg-up and most of them just want proper credit for their efforts, not your first born child.  I do not believe it to be an unreasonable request for such crediting and hopefully people can comply appropriately.

As NFK said we are exercising this process at our own discretion, some will receive verbal reminders about the credit if it seems accidental, whereas intentional misrepresentation obviously will lead to more severe actions.  We arent going to see a scene where you have 20 units responding and expect credits for everyone's content within that picture, that is simply unrealistic as expectations go.  When you're showing off a lone vehicle that you're adding to a mod, IMO it is not that difficult (or unreasonable) to put at the bottom the credits for the vehicle as to who did what with regards to it, not to mention it makes a "log" of your applicable credits which can come in handy before you release the mod since you'll have all the credits stowed on the topic.