Email from Chogon: Cavern Textures....

[andylegate]

A couple of weeks ago, I emailed Mark DeForest (aka Chogon) and asked him the following:

Mark,

I know you're more than likely very busy, and we have not heard from you for a while, but there has been a question brought up that I think we need an answer to. I've asked Alhamnat to look into it, but wanted to try asking you also. It's something that has to do with RAWA's guidelines:


While this is a technical question about Age Creation, it has to deal with Cyan's Property Rights. This question was raised in RAWA's thread over at MystOnline, but there has not been an "Official" answer upon it, only guesses by other fans.

In RAWA's guidelines, we are forbbiden to make new areas of the cavern that would possibly cause a conflict: IE adding a passage from Bevin to the "Hood Next Door" would not be allowed, nor adding to Ae'gura.

However, making new "Isolated" areas (areas that would only be accessable through the Nexus), is permitted, as long as there is no story line conflict of any kind.

This raises the question about using Cyan's property: Meshes and Textures. Obviously the D'ni had a very rich and diverse culture. There are only a few things in Bevin that carry over from Ae'gura, texture wise and a few meshes (moth lights), so it would be quite all right and expected that if someone wanted to create a new Neighborhood that the architecture will be completely different from that found in Ae'gura and Bevin (or Kirel). Different Textures too of course.

BUT....what about the cavern itself? The rock texture and the lake? Those are things that would have to match what you see in Bevin or Ae'gura, else continuity IS broken.
Granted, the Cavern is huge enough that a different area along the walls could have a different type of rock and rock strata and would explain away why the cavern walls and ceilings have different looking textures. It might be a hard pill for the average fan to swallow, but that would be a fine and true explination.

But then there is the lake, there is no getting around this. We can make the new Neighborhood far enough away to make the Arch not visable, but then you have the lake water itself.
One could say: "Well this hood was reached by linking only" but that seems a bit unrealistic, day to day commuting and goods being transported would have been done so over the lake water (making the idea of a tunnel not very realistic too).
Ae'gura set the example, all those piers at the ferry terminal

So that is the question that many of us would like asked, and that I can see coming from new Writers as the FCAL panel starts to ramp up: Can we use the Cavern Rock and Lake textures?

Thanks for any light you might be able to shed on this.

Andy

Mark finally got back to me yesterday, here is what he emailed me (:

Hi Andy,

Sorry it took so long to reply.

I talked to Rich (aka RAWA) and he said: "Continuity-wise, I would prefer them to use our textures for the cavern specifically for the reasons given here, but I don't know if that throws up any red flags for the "legal department"."

Which I replied with: as long as the textures are only used in Uru and MORE fan created ages and artwork. In other words, only used with the plasma engine (MORE, ULM, etc.) within the FCAL agreement (not for commercial use, etc.).

Thanks,
Mark

O.O

wow......that means any of us can create a neighborhood, and still use many of the textures that are in Uru for the cavern to help make the neighborhoods feel like they belong! This is wonderful news! I've always been a strong advocate about makeing your own stuff, but was worried about how someone would do this after RAWA set down his guidelines.

Man, feels like some chains just got removed from me! Yippy!

[Robert The Rebuilder]

That's great news, Andy! I'm sure GPNMilano in particular will be relieved to hear that, given that she's working on an addition to the cavern.

[Whilyam]

Just recently got a similar email. I've been making sure I heard it right, but it seems I have. This is certainly a good sign both for the fan ages in general and MORE's future in specific. It certainly seems, despite the recent news, that Cyan's collective mind is still somewhat on MORE. It's debatable whether that is good for their business or not.

[Jamey]

YAY! I'm in need of the cavern backdrop as well for the new age I'm working on, and hearing Cyan say yes is such a relief!

[GPNMilano]

Oh Happy days! I put in a request to use certain textures for this very purpose from Cyan's website. But Now I can continue unhindered as most of what I needed was covered by this! Whoo Hooo!

[Jamey]

Btw, does this mean we can use textures from other places in the cavern such as the writers pub/other guild pubs?

[andylegate]

Well, he did say "the textures" and while I was specifically talking about the Cavern itself, the pubs ARE in the cavern after all.

I don't know about other ages: Teledahn, Gahreesen. I personally still think that we need to make up our own for Ages outside of the cavern. But I knew it would be darn hard to match what Cyan has already in the Cavern and make it believeable.

Think we'll all still want to use plenty of our own textures for things, but this way many things will match and make sense.

I had asked Alahmnat what he thought at the same time, and he was not sure what RAWA or Chogon would say, but he did offer a solution to any different rock and lake textures...simply that the Cavern itself is not the only place underground, that there were other caverns too.

And he's right about that. But this way any of us can do BOTH. You can try your hand at adding some isolated part of the city, or your very own Hood. OR you can make your own cavern that's all by it's self too.

I was just happy to get an answer. And while it may or may not show the real status of MORE, it does mean that they were serious about putting fan Ages in. Period.

[GPNMilano]

I think I may contact them about things like the Nexus stations. I have one in my area of the cavern, and I'd like to be able to keep it there. Since new areas are only accessible via the Nexus, it would make sense if there's a Nexus Station there anyway.

[teedyo]

:shock:

YAY! I'm in need of the cavern backdrop as well for the new age I'm working on, and hearing Cyan say yes is such a relief!

Just remember that textures are not equal to structures. Cyan has yet to give the Ok for existing parts of the cavern to be visible from fan created areas.

[Lontahv]

I really hope Cyan doesn't allow people to use their meshes. That would truly be a step too far IMO and I don't believe they'd ever do something like that.