Public Release, Private Contents?

So you want to release a PUBLIC version of your creation into the Dreamiverse, but it contains LOCAL versions of your own Elements, and Dreams is asking you to upload those as PRIVATE. Eek!

Are you nervous about what other users might be able to do with those PRIVATE stamps? This page will help you feel confident about this situation - it’s AWESOME that you’re choosing to contribute to the Dreams creator coMmunity by releasing PUBLIC content!

This page will cover:

These topics are covered here in example form, exploring the implications of releasing as PUBLIC when your creation contains LOCAL/PRIVATE stamps. Head here for more detailed instructions on releasing in general.

Note: This page covers the PUBLIC release of a creation containing LOCAL or PRIVATE Elements which you own, but there is also a special case concerning the PLAYABLE release of a Dream containing LOCAL or PRIVATE Scenes, which is covered here.

What is a PUBLIC version?#

A PUBLIC version of your creation…

  • Can be searched and viewed by any dreamer.
  • Can be remixed by any dreamer, and they can edit that remix. Note that this does NOT affect your original PUBLIC version. A remix is a new version belonging to the person who remixed it.
  • Can be stamped into creations by any dreamer.

Importantly, only the owner of a creation can release a PUBLIC version of it.

What are stamps and why do they matter in releasing as PUBLIC?#

In Dreams you can place a version of one creation into another. An Element into a Scene, a Scene or Dream into a Dream, and any of these into a Collection. These are all known as “stamps”.

Example

1 - Ben is making a Castle Scene and he wants his castle surrounded with trees.

2 - Thankfully, Ben created a Tree Element a couple of months ago.

3 - In Edit Mode on his Castle Scene, he can stamp a version of his Tree Element into his Castle Scene.

Illustration for example of why stamps matter when releasing as PUBLIC.

Illustration for example of why stamps matter when releasing as PUBLIC.

As outlined in the permissions article, the PUBLIC release of a creation (e.g Castle Scene) is impacted by the creation state of a stamped version (e.g. stamp of PRIVATE Tree vs stamp of a PUBLIC Tree) and your relationship (e.g. owner, collaborator) with the original creation that stamped version derives from.

To release a creation as PUBLIC, you must have the permission to release the stamped versions in the creation as PUBLIC too. In the example, Ben owns all of the content in his Castle Scene, so he has the permission to release the Castle Scene as PUBLIC. However the creation state of the Tree Element matters, as we shall see next.

Releasing a PUBLIC Version Containing a Stamp of a LOCAL Version#

A LOCAL version is one which is saved only on your console, and not uploaded to our servers. You can stamp LOCAL versions of your creations into other creations, but because a LOCAL version is not online, we can’t verify whether you have the permission to use the stamp of that version and release it as PUBLIC.

If a creation has any LOCAL versions stamped in it and you choose to release the creation as PUBLIC, we will automatically ask you to save any LOCAL versions online as PRIVATE.

Example

1 - Ben’s Castle Scene now has his Tree Element in it. Both the Castle Scene and the Tree Element are saved as LOCAL.

2 - Ben wants to release a PUBLIC version of the Castle Scene, so selects Save and release this version online.

3 - Ben is taken to the Save Related Versions Online screen. Since the Tree Element is stamped into the Castle Scene, they are now related creations. So in order to release the Castle Scene as PUBLIC, the LOCAL Tree Element needs to be saved online as PRIVATE.

4 - When Ben hits the Save button on the Save Related Versions Online screen, the game saves a PRIVATE version of the Tree Element online. This means our servers can check that Ben owns the Tree Element and has the permission to release a PUBLIC version of the Castle Scene.

5 - Ben can now release his Castle Scene as PUBLIC. Hurrah!

See here for a more detailed step-by-step on releasing.

REMEMBER!

Uploading a new PRIVATE version during this flow will increase your online version limit for this creation. To learn more about that, check out this page.

Releasing a PUBLIC Version Containing a Stamp of a PRIVATE version#

You can stamp a PRIVATE version of a creation into your creation if:

  • You’re the owner of the original of the stamped creation (e.g Ben stamps his own PRIVATE Tree Element into his Castle Scene).
  • You’re a collaborator on the original of the stamped creation (e.g Andy owns a Fence Element and adds Ben as a collaborator. Ben can stamp a PRIVATE version of Andy’s Fence Element into his Castle Scene).

If you’re the owner of the original creation of a PRIVATE stamped version, you also have the permission to release the stamped version as PUBLIC.

Example

1 - Ben’s Castle Scene needs some treasure chests.

2 - Ben created a Chest element a while back and saved it as PRIVATE.

3 - Ben can stamp the PRIVATE Chest Element into his Castle Scene as he is the owner of the Chest Element.

4 - Ben can release his Castle Scene as PUBLIC as he has the permission to release the stamp of the Chest Element as PUBLIC too.

REMEMBER!

Once a PUBLIC version of a creation is released, any user in the Dreamiverse can search, find, stamp and remix this version and anything stamped inside it for use in their own creations.

The original Element remains PRIVATE, but the version of the Element stamped inside the PUBLIC creation is fully remixable. See example below.

Illustration of example for releasing a PUBLIC versions containing a PRIVATE stamp.

Illustration of example for releasing a PUBLIC versions containing a PRIVATE stamp.

WARNING!

If you’re the author (i.e. the owner) of a creation on which you have a collaborator, and your collaborator adds a PRIVATE stamp of a creation you don’t own to the creation you’re collaborating on, your PUBLIC release of the creation will be blocked. To remedy this, see here.

Example

1 - Ben released as PUBLIC his Castle Scene with his PRIVATE Chest Element in it.

2 - Emma, a complete stranger, finds Ben’s PUBLIC Castle Scene and remixes it to create her own.

3 - Emma opens Edit Mode in her remix. She likes the look of that Chest Element!

4 - Emma selects the Chest Element and uses Save As a New Creation to make it a separate Element, so she can use it in any of her creations as she wishes.

5 - Ben is credited on the Chest Element as it came from a remix of his Castle Scene.

Note that if Ben updates his Chest Element in future, Emma will not have access to those updates. Only the owner (Ben) or any collaborators on the original creation (Chest Element) will have access to any updates made.

So you can confidently release PUBLIC creations containing stamps of PRIVATE Elements without having to make the original Element PUBLIC too, and without worrying that other users have access to the original PRIVATE creation and any updates to it.

Releasing a PUBLIC Version Containing Stamps of PUBLIC Creations#

So how about stamps of PUBLIC creations? Remember that when you release a PUBLIC version of a creation, you are giving other dreamers the permission to stamp, use and remix everything within that PUBLIC version. So there are no restrictions or hampering of release when you stamp PUBLIC creations.

Example

1- Ben’s Castle Scene needs a cannon, so he searches for one in the Dreamiverse.

2 - A while back Kate released a PUBLIC version of her Medieval Cannon Element.

3 - Because it is the PUBLIC Lead version it can be searched, found and freely stamped by any user in the Dreamiverse, so Ben finds Kate’s Medieval Cannon Element.

4 - Ben stamps Kate’s Medieval Cannon Element into his Castle Scene.

5 - Ben can release a PUBLIC version of his Castle Scene without restriction as the stamped cannon is PUBLIC, and he’ll have access to any updates of the Medieval Cannon Element.

Illustration of example for releasing a PUBLIC version containing PUBLIC stamps.

Illustration of example for releasing a PUBLIC version containing PUBLIC stamps.

WARNING!

Remember that a PUBLIC version is forever. Even if you delete the PUBLIC version from the Dreamiverse, users will still have the permission to use their version that they may have previously remixed or stamped, even though the original cannot be searched and found anymore.

BEST PRACTICE!

Save online rather than LOCAL! When you want to save a new version, save it as PRIVATE online. Keeps your version safe, avoids editing conflicts on a shared creation, and means our permissions system can easily check you have the right to use content in your creation.

BEST PRACTICE!

Stamp PRIVATE or PUBLIC versions of your content, rather than LOCAL! It’ll speed up the PUBLIC release flow for your creation, as you won’t need to wait for each LOCAL stamp to be uploaded, referenced and verified before proceeding with your PUBLIC release.

Special Case: LOCAL or PRIVATE Versions of Scenes in Dreams#

A Scene can be saved as LOCAL, PRIVATE, PLAYABLE or PUBLIC. Stamping a LOCAL or PRIVATE version of a Scene in your Dream will impact the PLAYABLE release flow of your Dream differently to stamping a PLAYABLE or PUBLIC version of a Scene.

When you release a PLAYABLE version of your Dream, you allow dreamers to play everything inside the Dream, so we have to check that you have the permission to release them and they have the permission to play them!

Example

1 - Ben has a PRIVATE Secret Ending Scene for his Medieval Dream.

2 - In order to release Medieval Dream as PLAYABLE, Secret Ending Scene must also be made PLAYABLE, or the Dream cannot be released.

Note that you cannot stamp another creator's PLAYABLE creation into your own Dream. And if a collaborator wants to stamp their own PLAYABLE or PRIVATE creation into your Dream, they must add you as a collaborator on the PLAYABLE or PRIVATE creation.

TOP TIP!

If you don't want users to find the Scenes or Dreams you want to keep hidden in your Dream, set the Lock Mode to Always Invisible by tweaking the Scene/Dream you want to keep secret in the Dream Editor. You can change their creation state to Unlisted too!

The Dreams User Guide is a work-in-progress. Keep an eye out for updates as we add more learning resources and articles over time.