How do you know if someone is using free models in team create?

Help and Feedback Building Support
#1

Hello! I am just wondering if there is a universal way of tracking free models, so I can kick out the cheaters in my developer team. A plugin, or a method of tracking would be helpful. Thanks!

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#2

I’m not sure how using free models is “cheating”. As long as the models themselves weren’t stolen and you like the results, why not?

Back on topic, the toolbox uses GetObjects to load objects from the site, and this doesn’t trigger any events. However, it does insert a temporary model whenever something is inserted (line 72 of InsertAsset in the toolbox plugin, if anyone’s curious):

-- Insert everything into a model so we can query its bounding box
-- Then after we've moved the camera, move it out of the box
local model = Instance.new("Model")
model.Name = "ToolboxTemporaryInsertModel"
model.Parent = targetParent

You can listen to the game.DescendantAdded event and listen for whenever a model named “ToolboxTemporaryInsertModel” is added.

EDIT: I should note that free models aren’t the only ones that trigger this. Even inserted meshes trigger this, too. This also doesn’t check if the inserted model/mesh is created by the player inserting it themselves.

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#3

Its so easy for free models to be tampered so they couldn’t be compared directly to the “claimed free model” and the model form the library. You could copy and paste from another game and potentially go undetected.
One of the ways you can get around this is to ask the developer you suspect of using free models to open up their Toolbox and go to “Recent Models”. Obviously this may make your situation worse than what it is already.
Just remember, there’s nothing particularly wrong with using Free Models, as long as its respecting the asset owner’s IP (not stolen content).

However, it comes down to your perception. If you think something looks abnormal or something which looks like it should’t be there then the chances are that the model the developer may or may not of have made is authentic.
Different ways you can tell if an asset isn’t authentic:

  • Check for viruses: There are still some free models out there which still contain malicious content which could be obfuscated or made to ruin the performance of your game. In models where there is scripts, you can check and review if they become applicable.

  • Common sense: This may seem stupid but its highly effective. You could hire a builder or a person who make meshes and see if they could be adding free model scripts. Obviously, you wouldn’t of paid the personnel to make scripts for you, so the chances are they are not made by that developer. This works in the same way vice versa.

  • Check previous work by that developer: It would make sense to see someones work before they work with you so you can get an actual idea of their building style, scripting capabilities and others. If you’re hiring people, you’ll want to be checking for vouches, comments about the developer and any other useful information which will help you to understand the pros and cons of the developer. You can learn from this person in the sense where you can understand the developer for yourself.

  • Perception: If you feel like something doesn’t seem right then you’re probably are right.

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#4

I guess that I should add that this is really pointless. Even if you manage to find a way to check that the model was created by the player inserting it, nothing is stopping them from just uploading the free model into their account themselves.

Just trust and vet your devs properly, I guess.

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