Stromkraft wrote:Assuming I already have a MFL license and I get a Max license, then I can both make new devices and run them in Live on my own box as well as distribute it to others?
Whether you can distribute anything has nothing to do with owning a full Max license. With a M4L license you can make any M4L device you want and distribute it as you want.
Stromkraft wrote:Does the MFL license allow me to add or change things in an existing device, commercial or free, and run that inside Live? Though I cant distribute this to be run outside of Live nor let others use it?
You can edit any M4L device if you have a M4L license.
There is no built-in copy protection scheme for M4L devices, but several developers who have made commercial M4L devices have devised strategies to make sure people can't get to the code, or at least so that getting to it is difficult.
What you can do with existing devices, both commercial and non-commercial, depends on the specific license that the device creator has applied to the device.
Stromkraft wrote:I'll slowly try to learn more about Max development. I'm especially interested in making my own MIDI devices, even though there are some great ones out there already.
MIDI is the easy stuff compared to coding DSP, so it's a great place for a beginner to start. Check the resources in the sticky thread at the top of this sub-forum and make sure to go through the excellent Max tutorials.
If all you ever want to do is make M4L devices then a full Max license is not necessary.