Recently there has been some confusion about how the OpenBOR license works, and how/why Chronocrash will not support alternate versions of OpenBOR. Hopefully we can clear some of that up here.
License
OpenBOR's license is a BSD derivative. There's no point in restating it verbatim here, but the meaning is fairly simple. Anyone that wishes to use the OpenBOR engine or any part of its source code for any reason must include the original license. The license in turn requires either packing the engine source code used or releasing it on request. This is to prevent any single entity from turning the engine into a closed commercial application.
The license does NOT prevent you from selling modules made with OpenBOR, or from including the OpenBOR executable (but you do have to include the license). Nor does it require making your module materials open for distribution (assuming you own the rights to your materials in the first place). The license only applies to the OpenBOR engine and its code base.
Forks (Unofficial OpenBOR Builds)
One of the inevitable results of an open source code base is that sooner or later everyone and their dog has a personal fork or port of the software. Although the license allows forks and personal builds of OpenBOR, the ChronoCrash community highly discourages them. OpenBOR is a very unique application in that it relies entirely on end user content to operate. The forking model has already been tried. It did not and does not work with OpenBOR for several reasons. One of them is simply the amount of resources. We are a small community, and it is already difficult to support a single official fork. Despite all attempts to maintain backward compatibility, there are inevitably differences between one version to the next. Adding a set of horizontal compatibility issues in addition to vertical compatibility only serves to splinter our community.
Any links, advertising, and projects concerning unofficial builds of OpenBOR are subject to removal on sight. Obviously there's some leeway for test builds and similar situations - and we'll treat those case by case. Attempts at subversion will result in infractions. Furthermore as any forks or copies are by virtue of the original license also considered open, we will not honor any unofficial license. We will review the unofficial project and copy any improvements found into the original code base.
Keep in mind this is all done to protect the community and maintain a single application with minimal confusion for module creators, not to avoid changes. You are always welcome to submit updates and fixes to the official OpenBOR code base. Assuming your changes are compatible with current developments and don't overlap functionality the engine already has, it will likely be added, in which case you will receive full credit. If you have ideas for the engine, please consider joining our team.
Engine Credit
OpenBOR is royalty free. Follow the licese as explained above and you may use the engine without charge. That said, there is an unofficial policy that modules include a reasonably prominent splash page stating "Powered by OpenBOR", or similar. Module making is a difficult undertaking, but it is absolutely minuscule compared to the fifteen years and counting behind OpenBOR's development. You will never load games on another platform without seeing the engine name displayed proudly, and those creators had to pay for using it! Please extend the same courtesy with OpenBOR and encourage others to visit our community. More people means more games, and more fun for all!
License
OpenBOR's license is a BSD derivative. There's no point in restating it verbatim here, but the meaning is fairly simple. Anyone that wishes to use the OpenBOR engine or any part of its source code for any reason must include the original license. The license in turn requires either packing the engine source code used or releasing it on request. This is to prevent any single entity from turning the engine into a closed commercial application.
The license does NOT prevent you from selling modules made with OpenBOR, or from including the OpenBOR executable (but you do have to include the license). Nor does it require making your module materials open for distribution (assuming you own the rights to your materials in the first place). The license only applies to the OpenBOR engine and its code base.
Forks (Unofficial OpenBOR Builds)
One of the inevitable results of an open source code base is that sooner or later everyone and their dog has a personal fork or port of the software. Although the license allows forks and personal builds of OpenBOR, the ChronoCrash community highly discourages them. OpenBOR is a very unique application in that it relies entirely on end user content to operate. The forking model has already been tried. It did not and does not work with OpenBOR for several reasons. One of them is simply the amount of resources. We are a small community, and it is already difficult to support a single official fork. Despite all attempts to maintain backward compatibility, there are inevitably differences between one version to the next. Adding a set of horizontal compatibility issues in addition to vertical compatibility only serves to splinter our community.
Any links, advertising, and projects concerning unofficial builds of OpenBOR are subject to removal on sight. Obviously there's some leeway for test builds and similar situations - and we'll treat those case by case. Attempts at subversion will result in infractions. Furthermore as any forks or copies are by virtue of the original license also considered open, we will not honor any unofficial license. We will review the unofficial project and copy any improvements found into the original code base.
Keep in mind this is all done to protect the community and maintain a single application with minimal confusion for module creators, not to avoid changes. You are always welcome to submit updates and fixes to the official OpenBOR code base. Assuming your changes are compatible with current developments and don't overlap functionality the engine already has, it will likely be added, in which case you will receive full credit. If you have ideas for the engine, please consider joining our team.
Engine Credit
OpenBOR is royalty free. Follow the licese as explained above and you may use the engine without charge. That said, there is an unofficial policy that modules include a reasonably prominent splash page stating "Powered by OpenBOR", or similar. Module making is a difficult undertaking, but it is absolutely minuscule compared to the fifteen years and counting behind OpenBOR's development. You will never load games on another platform without seeing the engine name displayed proudly, and those creators had to pay for using it! Please extend the same courtesy with OpenBOR and encourage others to visit our community. More people means more games, and more fun for all!
