Licensing question

First of all, thank you for releasing some very interesting code. I hope you manage to establish the open source community that you want.

Now my question: if I take your code and implement a new game, I realise that I have to release the source code for any changes I make to the client and the server. How far does that go, though? Would I have to release the files that define my virtual world, its quests, any completely new artwork I have commissioned, and so on?

I ask this because I wouldn't want the game to fragment. If I am the only person running a game I've designed, I might attract a critical mass of players. If fifty people download the code and start running their own copies of the game, IMO it won't work. None of those fifty servers will attract enough players, so they will all die.

I can see that Ryzom is aware of this problem, and made the sensible decision not to release the files that define the Ryzom virtual world. I was wondering, though, how this would work for third parties who make use of the Ryzom code.

Replies (3)

RE: Licensing question - Added by vl about 5 years ago

Hello,

Source code is under AGPL so the license cover the whole source code. So if you create a mmorpg with ryzom core, you ll have to put all the source code (client, servers, tools if the tools use ryzom core) under the same license (agplv3)

For the art data: if you take some art data from ryzom assets repo, you ll have to release it in the same license and follow the rules from CC BY-SA. If you create new textures from scratch, new objects from scratch, it's up to you to decide which license you want to apply on this assets. There's no license links between assets.

For leveldesign data: They are xml files and you can put them under what license you want (close, open, public domain).

RE: Licensing question - Added by Kane about 5 years ago

for the level-design question does this include scripts, music files, sound files?

RE: Licensing question - Added by vl about 5 years ago

If you create your own assets for sounds, musics, texture, object... you can use the license you want.

If you create your own mission, own scripts, own stats files, you can use the license you want.

And if you reuse some things from files under a license, you have to keep this things in the same license.

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