Rascal & Cottonwood Assets

[NorthernWarrior]

What's the current take on using these in a freeware route - essential for any North American project?

Mine is the Just Trains DVD version so immune from any Steam updates that might lock out the content but for those who have the DLC version are the assets available to place or be called on or did they get blocked from use in other routes.

NB: This is purely to clarify the situation, not to re-ignite previous heated discussions over policy.

[Richard]

Hi Vern,
After the big debate on the forum, I removed all of the R&C Assets from my current route. Nothing against Rich G. or his R&C route, his scenery objects are all top notch. I understood the point he was trying to make, that if you use his objects, you are forcing people to purchase one of his routes to gain the full visual effect for your route. Since I was creating entire towns using his building, if someone did not want to purchase one of his routes for the scenery objects, all that person would have seen was the roadways, road signs, etc. but none of the buildings. In my opinion that would have taken away from all of the hard work I've put into the route and that was why I removed them from my route. I'm pretty sure it was left standing, if you want to use the objects, you are free to do so, but you cannot include the objects with your installer program or rwp package for your route.

Regards,

[OTTODAD]

If RG assets are being used in one of your routes then they are required to be installed by having purchased one of his routes from whatever source.

Have a long time ago suggested that he releases a reasonably priced Payware version of them but has fallen on deaf and now dead ears !

O t t o

[NorthernWarrior]

Naturally I'm aware the assets can't be distributed and the purchase of the R&C route by a third party intending to use your creation is required. In that respect no different to IOW, or more recently WCML North and Glasgow to Edinburgh being pretty much essential to finding enough objects to populate a UK route. The key point being that if others have the route installed via bought and paid for DLC there has not been any block put in place to prevent the assets from appearing in another route that references them.

Sadly there's still far too few freeware assets being created and the default selection in RW for US prototypes is even worse than that for the UK, being limited to a few desert style buildings and the generic offices and factories.

[transadelaide1]

As far as I understand how things go, the lock on assets only prevents them from being placed in the editor. Even if the R&C/C&N assets were to be locked by Steam, this would not prevent people from loading them in a route that was created using unlocked All Aboard assets, but they will be fixed in position and not movable in the editor. As long as you made your purchase under the original terms that did not make any mention of referencing objects (either from JT or Steam) and have a usable backup then you are free to reference those objects in your own route.

This is the beauty of assets not being linked to routes in RailWorks 2 - if they were locked from even appearing in all routes that would cripple the All Aboard routes with which the assets were supplied!