SeventhSentinel
In charge of way less than you might think
Administrator
Sonic Team Junior
Kart Krew™️
With 2.2 being the current version of Sonic Robo Blast 2 (as of this writing) and Version 2.0 of SRB2 Kart arriving... eventually, many mods for both become unusable as the version changes, and will be in need of porting to the next version due to various changes. Although this is nothing new for SRB2, I imagine many users have joined just for SRB2 Kart, and may not be familiar with how big updates can render old mods locked to older game versions.
Most add-ons have to be ported to work, but sometimes the author is not available to give permission for those ports to be made. Depending on the mod, this may mean that it's locked to the old version forever, or if it was especially popular it sometimes means that multiple unauthorized, low quality ports happen and get passed around instead, damaging new players' impression of the original work.
We call this the "orphaned works" problem, because it stems from a mod having no clear authority on who is allowed to maintain or change it. The mission of the SRB2MB releases system is first and foremost to preserve SRB2's history and respect the rights of those who contributed to it, and to that end we have a proposal:
If you're willing, we'd like for you to give permission to port your work in the event you can't be contacted. We're now offering to oversee the porting process to make sure that you are properly credited, and that your mods are accurately ported, well maintained, and still under your control should you return.
If you'd like to do so, mark your work as [Reusable] - You can do this by checking [Yes] on this part of the submission process. However, this also means that your work may be reused and modified. If there are specific parts of a file you do not wish to be modified, please specify so in your post. Especially important if your own work is reusable, but code borrowed from someone else is not.
In practice, this usually means that people who want to port your mods will come to us to check if someone is already working on it, and later for final approval. Occasionally, we may port a work ourselves, or specifically ask someone to do so.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PORTERS:
If you wish to port a mod, being someone else's or your own, then in addition to proper credits to the original author, you will need to give it a version number higher than the original mod's latest version. So if say, I wanted to port a mod by someone else called "KC_OtherSonic_v2.4.pk3", it would have to be "KC_OtherSonic_v3.pk3". If the original author returns and they make their own version, then the version would be something like "KC_OtherSonic_v3.1.pk3", even if it does not use the former port as a base.
If you are not the original author, and a mod has multiple maps/characters in the same package, then they must all be ported. Merging mods or creating compilations with other mods without the author's permission is not allowed. For example, you can't make "KC_MyMixAndMatchTape_v1.pk3" and just have random favorites from other mods, solo mods, and original content merged into one.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RETURNING AUTHORS:
The intent of this process is to preserve the mods that may be lost, not to take away rights from users just because of their absence. If you do return, then you should have the right to reclaim your work. If you have any issues regarding your works being ported and how they are being ported, please contact us using this subforum.
Most add-ons have to be ported to work, but sometimes the author is not available to give permission for those ports to be made. Depending on the mod, this may mean that it's locked to the old version forever, or if it was especially popular it sometimes means that multiple unauthorized, low quality ports happen and get passed around instead, damaging new players' impression of the original work.
We call this the "orphaned works" problem, because it stems from a mod having no clear authority on who is allowed to maintain or change it. The mission of the SRB2MB releases system is first and foremost to preserve SRB2's history and respect the rights of those who contributed to it, and to that end we have a proposal:
If you're willing, we'd like for you to give permission to port your work in the event you can't be contacted. We're now offering to oversee the porting process to make sure that you are properly credited, and that your mods are accurately ported, well maintained, and still under your control should you return.
If you'd like to do so, mark your work as [Reusable] - You can do this by checking [Yes] on this part of the submission process. However, this also means that your work may be reused and modified. If there are specific parts of a file you do not wish to be modified, please specify so in your post. Especially important if your own work is reusable, but code borrowed from someone else is not.
In practice, this usually means that people who want to port your mods will come to us to check if someone is already working on it, and later for final approval. Occasionally, we may port a work ourselves, or specifically ask someone to do so.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR PORTERS:
If you wish to port a mod, being someone else's or your own, then in addition to proper credits to the original author, you will need to give it a version number higher than the original mod's latest version. So if say, I wanted to port a mod by someone else called "KC_OtherSonic_v2.4.pk3", it would have to be "KC_OtherSonic_v3.pk3". If the original author returns and they make their own version, then the version would be something like "KC_OtherSonic_v3.1.pk3", even if it does not use the former port as a base.
If you are not the original author, and a mod has multiple maps/characters in the same package, then they must all be ported. Merging mods or creating compilations with other mods without the author's permission is not allowed. For example, you can't make "KC_MyMixAndMatchTape_v1.pk3" and just have random favorites from other mods, solo mods, and original content merged into one.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RETURNING AUTHORS:
The intent of this process is to preserve the mods that may be lost, not to take away rights from users just because of their absence. If you do return, then you should have the right to reclaim your work. If you have any issues regarding your works being ported and how they are being ported, please contact us using this subforum.
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