VRchat bans mods, embraces EAC

Re:VRchat bans mods, embraces EAC by numpad0 on Tuesday July 26, 2022 @08:23AM (#32237326)

Hey since you claim to be a knowledgeable VRC user - which I have no reasons to doubt - do you think it’s all about those crashers or could it be also to stop avatar rips, maybe foreshadowing microtransactions?

I’m completely uninitiated on VRC, but I do see some artists who have been offering VRC avatars and accessories through external services like booth.pm for couple years by now. Rips and thrown-together pirated models was a huge problem at least initially, and I would imagine would only be helped by mods.

Could this be that VRC is finally moving onto integrating avatar/editor marketplace and locking down on “illegal” avatars as part of that move?

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Re:VRchat bans mods, embraces EAC by LordDragonfang on Tuesday July 26, 2022 @12:21PM (#32240312)

I think avatar data is stored in a cache file, so banning modified clients won't necessarily prevent rips.

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Re:VRchat bans mods, embraces EAC by pteraspidomorph on Tuesday July 26, 2022 @01:32PM (#32241227)

For the sake of understanding the problem, any avatar marked as public can, or at least could (I can't say I've looked into this problem recently) be obtained in the following manner (DON'T do this, as it's still both a violation of the TOS and copyright infringement):

- Change into the avatar.

- Ask the VRChat API (backend) for information on yourself (this requires no special permissions).

- Use the link contained in the response JSON to download the avatar to your computer (it's how the official client obtains it, too)

- Unpack it with literally any Unity asset pack extractor, of which there are several. The asset pack is not secured in any way.

Note how mods are conspicuously absent from all of these steps.

I'm an avatar maker myself, and at this point my stance is that I can't be responsible for people stealing assets from me that I'm not allowed to redistribute, but I'm open to directly giving anyone anything I'm allowed to redistribute, and to teach them how to implement, download or purchase everything else. It's a load off my mind.

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