Legal rights to Models and Face Poser

[timech187]

I have been showing the capabilities of the Source Engine to some folks here at work. We are starting to use Face Poser with recorded speech to create Intros to webpages and the like.

Think of a talking head introducing a site or subject in a site.

Where might I find out how much, if anything, it costs to be able to use custom models using the Face Poser program that comes with HL2 to utilize the talking heads without getting into lawsuite stuff.

Thanks for any replies .

Timech

 

[random.hero]

maybe start looking to the people who made it? ...Valve, thats the most logical place to start asking.

 

[Mikademius]

maybe start looking to the people who made it? ...Valve, thats the most logical place to start asking.

yeah. That would probably be the best way to start this project ...

 

[timech187]

I will do that. I figured I hadn't been into the model making business yet and hoped this had been dealt with before or mentioned. Thanks .

Timech

 

[Lepetitprince]

can you post the awnser valve will give you ,

plz and tnx

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

You own your models (assuming you made them yourself)

However, anything that uses Valve's engine falls under their commercial exploitation licence, and you'll need to speak to them about it.

 

[The Dark Elf]

I have been showing the capabilities of the Source Engine to some folks here at work. We are starting to use Face Poser with recorded speech to create Intros to webpages and the like.

Think of a talking head introducing a site or subject in a site.

Where might I find out how much, if anything, it costs to be able to use custom models using the Face Poser program that comes with HL2 to utilize the talking heads without getting into lawsuite stuff.

Thanks for any replies .

Timech

As Pi says, your gonna want to talk to Valve.. just using Face Poser in the way you've been doing (making money) could likely break the terms they've laid out. It's the same as using an educational licence of Softimage for commercial work. And being a company could get you all into a lot of trouble if Valve chose to pursue it, which I imagine they would otherwise everyone would do the same knowing they could simply cite your example as proof Valve don't mind.

In which case it would mean people could make animated films of a sort in Source and make a profit, or create other things in source and then sell the final results (since the engine or files itself wouldn't be distributed.. and I doubt Valve would want that to happen neither)

 

[timech187]

I have emailed Valve and hopefully in the near future they will send me a response. I figure there might be a price for using such a thing for a business, but that's the purpose I suppose. I know they sold the engine so the Vampire game could be made. I just wonder what all is involved.

I will post here whatever response I get.

Timech

 

[The Dark Elf]

I have emailed Valve and hopefully in the near future they will send me a response. I figure there might be a price for using such a thing for a business, but that's the purpose I suppose. I know they sold the engine so the Vampire game could be made. I just wonder what all is involved.

I will post here whatever response I get.

Timech

well if you buy a licence, a full licence, you can pretty much do what you like, within reason of course.

They do offer various prices/types I think though depending on what its used for. And getting a licence to use the software in the way your using it should be a lot less than an actual engine licence, since your not actually touching the source code itself, or making a profit from the software itself.

I will be very surprised though if they let you use the tools commercially in that way. Pretty much opens things up to all kinds of profit making schemes for free *rubs hands together* hehe