I'm currently prototyping a standalone commercial game using OpenRA / OpenRAModSDK, and I wanted to introduce the project and get some feedback from the community before going too far down the development path.
The game is called Harvestank (for now). It is not intended to use any Command & Conquer / Red Alert IP, assets, sounds, maps, factions, or other copyrighted content. The goal is to build a completely original game, with its own artwork, audio, UI, units, gameplay systems, setting, and branding, while using OpenRA as the underlying engine.
The current concept is an RTS/incremental hybrid centered around autonomous harvesters, resource collection, upgrades, combat, and progressively expanding operations. I'm deliberately designing the game around what OpenRA does well rather than trying to force a completely unrelated genre into the engine.
The intention would eventually be to release the game commercially, most likely on Steam.
I've been reading through the OpenRA and OpenRAModSDK licensing information, and my current understanding is:
OpenRA / OpenRAModSDK and any engine-side modifications would remain GPLv3-compatible.
Any code that is required to be GPL-compatible would be released accordingly.
Original game assets such as artwork, audio, music, branding, etc. can remain under a separate proprietary/commercial license.
Game data that does not constitute GPL-covered code can also be distributed under its own terms where applicable.
I'm perfectly fine with contributing engine modifications back and complying with the GPL. My main goal is simply to keep the original game content and IP separate from the engine license.
What I'd particularly like to know is:
- Has anyone here built or seriously attempted a fully standalone commercial game on OpenRA rather than a traditional C&C-derived mod?
- Are there any architectural or licensing pitfalls in OpenRAModSDK that I should be aware of before the project becomes large?
- Is the recommended approach still to build the project as an OpenRAModSDK-based standalone mod/game and produce independent installers from there?
- Are there parts of OpenRA that are particularly difficult to replace when trying to remove all traces of the original C&C-style presentation and make the game feel like its own product?
- From the maintainers' perspective, is commercial use of OpenRA for an original standalone game something you are comfortable seeing projects pursue?
I'm also happy to contribute fixes or improvements upstream if development of the game exposes useful engine-level changes.
Currently, the idea is to do something similar to what Selaco did with the UZDoom engine, for instance, building the steam plugin separately, and communicate it as a standalone plugin (like Selaco did) to avoid GPL violations that way. The game will be fully playable without the plugin.
On a personal level, working with RA again, being that the first thing I did to mod a game, was to edit the original RA game in 1998, has a very nostalgic feeling.
Thanks, and I'd be very interested to hear from anyone who has experimented with OpenRA outside of the traditional C&C modding use case.