Mod Content Usage

This page is purposely created with no link until Valve helps fill in content with official word.

Introduction

The purpose of this page is to give a more definitive answer to the question, "What Valve content can I use in my MOD?" Back in the "old days" of Half-Life 2 mods, it was pretty simple: you could use any official Valve content in your mod. But with the release of first C-Zero and then the Source mods, things got more ambiguous and questions began to arise. Can you use C-Zero content in your mod? Can you take HL1 content and put it in your HL2 mod? Can you put Counter-Strike: Source content into your mod? Day of Defeat: Source content?

A lot of people have guesses or hunches what the rules are. Hopefully this page can get "the official word" from Valve to make sure mod developers can do their most and yet not tread onto shakey ground.

Valve Game Content Usage

In the table below, each row lists a different Valve game with content or resources that could be used in a mod. The colums then are divided into two groups. The first group is for mods created under the Half-Life 1 engine. The second group is for mods created under the Half-Life 2 engine. The value (see key below) under each column shows whether the given content type can be used in a mod under the given engine.

Key   Yes   No   If Owned   Unknown   N/A   Other

Usage Tables Goldsource Content Game Use in a Half-Life 1 Mod? Original DLL Original Models Original Sounds Original Materials Original Maps Half-Life 1           Team Fortress Classic           Counter-Strike           Day of Defeat           Condition Zero           Condition Zero Deleted Scenes           Blue Shift           Opposing Force           Ricochet           Deathmatch Classic           Source Content Game Use in a Half-Life 2 Mod? Original DLL Original Models Original Sounds Original Materials Original Maps Half-Life 2           Counter-Strike: Source           Day of Defeat: Source           Half-Life 2: Lost Coast           Half-Life 2: Deathmatch           Half-Life: Source

Key Descriptions Yes Allowed for use in a mod if the original game (left hand column) is also owned by the player of the mod. No It is not allowed to use this content for the given base game. If Owned To use this content, you must own the original game the content came from. Unknown Needs clarification from Valve. N/A Not applicable or not possible. For example using HL1 DLLs with HL2 based mods. Other Restrictions apply which are described in footnotes below the table.

Using content from other Mods

Authors do have the right to take you to court for using their content withought permission

It's a sad fact, but in some cases content is also being lifted from one Mod to another. It's often a misconception that just because a Mod is free to download, it's contents are also free for you to take and choose from as you wish.

Even if a Mod is free or not, the creators of any original work included within it (sounds, materials, models) own the Intellecual Property and Copyrights for their work. This is true if you are a high-school kid, a corporation, or just some other hacker who puts stuff together for fun. Every author gains these rights by default when they create their work.

The authors alone can decide how and who may use their work and have the law behind them should they decide to take issue of anything used without permission. If you see something in another Mod that would be of use to you in your own Mod or map, your first step should be to contact the Mod team and then specifically the creator of the item your after. They and they alone can give you an O.K. to use their work.