Commercial game with Spring

[HussarGames]

Hello All,

We are a small game development studio looking for a new 3D game engine.
http://www.huszargames.hu/?lang=en

We already have 2 commercial and 2 free games released, but our game engine is obsolete and wee need to move on.
Our goal is now to develop a commercial 3D RTS game and as I understand it, it is possible with Spring.
My questions:

1. If we make a commercial game, do we have to release the entire source code? As I understand, this can be on a per request basis.

2. Are there any technological limitations that would make our life hard with this engine? Eg. can we have our own multiplayer lobby instead of the generic Spring Lobby? Can we bundle the game engine easily with the install package, so users can follow the usual install routine (no separate engine install)? Any other limitations?

3. Is it possible to receive support from the dev team? We would be happy to pay for this also if it is reasonable.

4. Is Spring a good choice at all for a commercial game? If not what other engine would you recommend?

Thank you,

Hussar Games
Lead Developer

[gajop]

1. If we make a commercial game, do we have to release the entire source code? As I understand, this can be on a per request basis.

Your game will probably comprise of .lua code (which is where your game specific mechanics go) and models/textures. The Lua probably needs to be GPLed, but the graphics don't.

2. Are there any technological limitations that would make our life hard with this engine?

I'm sure there are some limitations in Spring, but that depends on what you want to do. You currently can't make any game with time jumping, planet-like maps, 4-D games, and probably many more. Can you be specific in your goals?

Eg. can we have our own multiplayer lobby instead of the generic Spring Lobby?

There is no "generic Spring lobby" unless you mean SpringLobby, and there are also many others (most which support multiple games), so you can either use/customize those, depending on the licence, or roll your own. Also note that an in-game lua lobby is a WIP - but don't expect anything yet.

Can we bundle the game engine easily with the install package, so users can follow the usual install routine (no separate engine install)?

Yes, see how zero-k or evorts are installed.

3. Is it possible to receive support from the dev team? We would be happy to pay for this also if it is reasonable.

Yes, but most people do this in their off hours, so it really just depends on their mood. That said, people are helpful here, I just wouldn't treat it as a business.

[Funkencool]

The potential of the engine is very high (and limitations very low) depending on how much time you actually want to spend on the engine, but without even touching the engine's source code it is still very capable through lua.

There has actually already been at least one commercial made built on spring called "P.U.R.E." , but I can't really say much on its success.

I would highly recommend trying out some games already built on it to get an idea of what you can do with it. Preferably ones that don't have "Annihilation" in the name, as they're a little outdated currently (still fun though).

[knorke]

see here: http://springrts.com/wiki/Games to see how other games are distributed, what kind of installers and lobbies they use etc

[zerver]

3. Is it possible to receive support from the dev team? We would be happy to pay for this also if it is reasonable.

Yes, but most people do this in their off hours, so it really just depends on their mood. That said, people are helpful here, I just wouldn't treat it as a business.

Correct. If you need "guaranteed" (paid) support I guess it may be possible to arrange depending on how much time dev(s) have to spare.

If the engine lacks something vital, please note that you can also request new features. These features may or may not be implemented (for free) depending on whether the dev team considers it a suitable change. Some changes are boring/unrewarding for us developers and may therefore never get implemented (or it could take a very long time), even if we all agree that they would be great to have.

If you are willing to pay for it I'm pretty sure anything can be arranged but in this case it may end up as a specialized engine version, that is not part of the main branch. And of course you have the possibility to modify the engine yourself to suit your needs, as long as it remains open source.

[SinbadEV]

Out of curiosity is it possible for Spring engine games and related Lua and Models/Maps/Texture etc to be "Open but not Free" such that the source is made available but, by licence, must be paid for to be played and cannot be taken and used in other projects?

[smoth]

That belongs in another thread sinbad

[Forboding Angel]

Out of curiosity is it possible for Spring engine games and related Lua and Models/Maps/Texture etc to be "Open but not Free" such that the source is made available but, by licence, must be paid for to be played and cannot be taken and used in other projects?

But the quick answer is yes.