Is CGI allowed in any case?

  • Jimmyfriend
    19th Jun 2019 Member 0 Permalink

    Are we allowed to use the Lua API to assist with the creation of assets? Or is the CGI ban strictly on entire images being uploaded to the store? Or is there a lot more nuance than that?

  • LBPHacker
    19th Jun 2019 Developer 1 Permalink

    I'd say it's only banned if most of the creative factor in your save resides in a part that was generated by CGI. For example, if you made a printer that could print huge colourful images and you demoed it with a well known image off the internet, that would be fine even if you transferred the image data into the save via some form of CGI. The exceptions are generally saves that don't focus on the CGI part.

     

    Note that this is not an authoritative answer but simply one of experience, though I wouldn't be surprised if the mod team had the same idea.

  • Lockheedmartin
    19th Jun 2019 Moderator 1 Permalink

    Jimmyfriend:

    Are we allowed to use the Lua API to assist with the creation of assets?



    Could you please clarify what you mean by "assist with the creation of assets"?
  • Jimmyfriend
    20th Jun 2019 Member 0 Permalink

    @Lockheedmartin (View Post)

     

    Say I construct a city and want to retouch parts of it. Would I be allowed to import the save into Photoshop, retouch the sand, and use a script to apply the changes to the sand as dcolor? Of course, a city made entirely in Photoshop, of METL, and dcolor'd into looking like a New York skyline would be banned, and I want to make it clear that that's not what I'm doing. 

     

    To give another example that touches upon what @LBPHacker described, which I think he'd know a lot more about, would an assembler (written outside the game) that generates instructions for a computer (inside the game) be okay?

     

    edit: Thanks for the quick replies, by the way! I expected to have to wait a few days, not a few minutes!

    Edited 2 times by Jimmyfriend. Last: 20th Jun 2019
  • LBPHacker
    20th Jun 2019 Developer 1 Permalink

    Assemblers are perfectly fine :P Done it a few times. Retouching I'd consider okay if the save has aesthetic / functional / other value even with the deco layer disabled. Nope, scratch that, completely against Rule G6. See also the actually authoritative moderator response below.

    Edited 2 times by LBPHacker. Last: 20th Jun 2019
  • Jimmyfriend
    20th Jun 2019 Member 0 Permalink

    @LBPHacker (View Post)

     

    Great to hear! Thanks.

  • Lockheedmartin
    20th Jun 2019 Moderator 1 Permalink
    Generally the exceptions given primarily to saves that use CGI/Lua for parts that aren't the focus of the save or demonstrate the functionality. These could be small logos, converting a video into the game for a video player, etc. Things that are more technical tend to be given the exception because they show what the game mechanics can do

    The use of CGI or scripting for deco layers is not allowed because the deco layer tends to give the save that appeal for users in saves such as cities. Retouching can be very broad and encompass many ideas of how much is retouched versus just using a third-party editor to upload work.
    Edited 3 times by Lockheedmartin. Last: 20th Jun 2019
  • Jimmyfriend
    20th Jun 2019 Member 0 Permalink

    @Lockheedmartin (View Post)

     

    That makes sense! I appreciate the clarification. Thanks again.