Thomas and Friends

[G4N2VO | kingj09]

Is it possible to make a mod that include the Thomas and friend engines?

[grapplehoeker]

Uh oh...
While I like the idea, that might get my son interested in playing and he's very happy with his Tracks game that I bought him for Xmas. I'd prefer that we play separately ;)

[genemead]

We're kidding, right?

[Skiwee]

Not to toot my own horn or get peoples hopes up, but I had been working on this idea. It would be very nostalgic.

[G4N2VO | kingj09]

My son loves trains, and he loves Thomas and Friends. What would it hurt to have a mod that makes the trains look like the friendly ones.

[SlimNasty™]

Not sure anyone can do these due to they'll be copyrighted.

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by SlimNasty™:

Not sure anyone can do these due to they'll be copyrighted.

They can and they have...
Rev. Wilbert Awdry, author of Thomas the Tank Engine (1946) died in 1997.
There have been many adaptations of his book, parodies and use of the characters in all manner of media, not only the tv show Thomas and Friends.

Originally posted by wikipedia:

Video game players have frequently modified released games to include Thomas and other characters, typically by replacing a boss character with Thomas and using sounds and music from the show. One of the first popular efforts was replacing dragons with engines and trucks in the game The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim in 2013, and Thomas has since been incorporated into other games like Grand Theft Auto V, Sonic the Hedgehog and the 2019 Resident Evil 2 remaster.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_the_Tank_Engine

[SoftwareSimian]

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

They can and they have...

Obviously the licensed products are legion. But I doubt any modder here would be willing to pay the (undoubtedly large) license fee required to produce a fully-licensed mod.

In TpF1 there were a number of mods for the "real-life" versions of the character locomotive, or at least something close. Some discussion of that in this thread. I haven't checked if any of these have yet been ported to TpF2.

[grapplehoeker]

Originally posted by SoftwareSimian:

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

They can and they have...

Obviously the licensed products are legion. But I doubt any modder here would be willing to pay the (undoubtedly large) license fee required to produce a fully-licensed mod.

I think you're being overly cautious. I doubt that creating an unlicensed mod using any of the characters would cause any litigious action, particularly if it was not monetized. If there were any objection, the mod would simply be removed.
I see this for example in the Workshop for another game since 2015 and it's still there ;)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=522679225

[SpecialistZer0]

I know a user that is actively working on a map based on Thomas the Tank Engine books, he is also interested in making the Loco's for TpF2, not sure if he will get it done but he seems keen?

[SoftwareSimian]

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

I think you're being overly cautious. I doubt that creating an unlicensed mod using any of the characters would cause any litigious action, particularly if it was not monetized.

There's still a difference between "licensed" and "unlicensed but we're not going to bother chasing it because it's really harming us".

[killakanz]

It's possible.
Weather any TpF modder wants to is a different question altogether.

[SlimNasty™]

Originally posted by grapplehoeker:

Originally posted by SoftwareSimian:

Obviously the licensed products are legion. But I doubt any modder here would be willing to pay the (undoubtedly large) license fee required to produce a fully-licensed mod.

I think you're being overly cautious. I doubt that creating an unlicensed mod using any of the characters would cause any litigious action, particularly if it was not monetized. If there were any objection, the mod would simply be removed.
I see this for example in the Workshop for another game since 2015 and it's still there ;)
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=522679225

Plenty have been removed before in Transport Fever 1 for similar breaches so I wouldn't expect any difference, usually only takes an email or letter to get people to remove them.