MikeWest502 wrote:elguapo wrote:MikeWest502 wrote:
It is illegal to ...
2. Hack into the mmap and TMdl game files with 3rd party utilities and modify the original game files.
...for profit.
Not just for profit. You can't modify the default game files and distribute their game to anyone. Unless EA releases the game as open source. Texmod does not modify game files owned by EA properties. You do what you will, I just posted a portion of the EULA legal terms of use.
No one on this forum is distrubiting "the game" in any of the mods. Modified files, yes, but not nearly enough to run the game.
Generally, no company takes issue with someone modifying files for the purpose of modding the game, so long as no money is being made on it. It's technically a gray area, but most companies are fine with it. Take another EA game, for example: Mass Effect. Not only did EA not have a problem with the mods for the game, the devs at BioWare actually used some of the mods as a "baseline" for their own updates to the games for the remaster. Textures mostly, but some gameplay stuff too.
Take another game as an example, XCOM: Enemy Unknown from Firaxis and Take Two. Modders had to literally break the file encryption and hex edit files for most mods. Not only were the fine with it, the devs even said the mods were the "true way to play", hired some of the modders on, and made the sequel much easier to mod so people wouldn't have to break open the files again.
Modding can often be considered a legal gray area, but it is a gray area that almost no publisher will ever do anything about. In fact, mods often sell more game copies, so some publishers support mods for that reason. Take Bethesda. Their games wouldn't even be a fraction as popular as they are without mods, and they know it, so they readily support modding their games. Though... they did try to monetize modding once, but it just pissed people off and they backed off.