making game with openmw question

General discussion regarding the OpenMW project.
For technical support, please use the Support subforum.
User avatar
PeterBitt
Posts: 144
Joined: 25 Mar 2013, 18:49
Location: Berlin
Contact:

making game with openmw question

Post by PeterBitt »

How will making a game using OpenMW basicly work? Will the core Morrowind gameplay be ready to use, like movement, combat, AI, dialogue system and so on? So would it basicly work like making a total conversion where not much coding is needed?

I guess Bethesda's code is not allowed to be used in other games, how does this work with OpenMW?
I am afraid one basicly needs to be a coder and start completely from scratch since even gameplay features like the combat system and its code are Bethesda's IP? Will the example suite provide a different gameplay base which is legal to use?

So in short: Wont Bethesda complain when lots of games with Morrowind core gameplay pop up? Hope not!
sanchezman
Posts: 9
Joined: 18 Nov 2015, 06:23

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by sanchezman »

While the code behind the engine is certainly Bethesda's IP, they do not have any copyright claim over what that code does.

To put it another way:
Microsoft has copyright over the code to MS Word, but they cannot claim copyright over all word processing software. Only the code that they wrote is protected as their IP.

Furthermore, the OpenMW project doesn't use any Bethesda code, so there is no legal problem. They cannot copyright gameplay, because gameplay is created by the player interacting with the game (not Bethesda) and because the player's interactions are considered improvised (improvised works are not subject to copyright unless they are recorded).

Essentially, as long as those games created with OpenMW do not use any Bethesda assets or scripts, they will not infringe Bethesda's IP.

Think of it like this: Do you think Bethesda was the first company to make a first person RPG where you wield swords and cast magic? :D
User avatar
psi29a
Posts: 5356
Joined: 29 Sep 2011, 10:13
Location: Belgium
Gitlab profile: https://gitlab.com/psi29a/
Contact:

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by psi29a »

Hence the OpenMW-Template and OpenMW-Example-Suite, usable out of the box 'game' templates.

The former's IP is CC-BY while the later's is CC-BY-SA licensed.

Basically we did the hard boring stuff for you so you can go build/make your own stuff. The CC-BY is the most liberal license we could provide while enforcing that everyone gets attributed for their work. You can do whatever you want with the Template for example, extend it, make awesome stuff, but the original work/assets will always be under the CC-BY license. Whatever you ship with it however is your copyright, license as you wish.

The CC-BY-SA simply says the above, but if you ever modify any of the assets then you'll have share them under the same license. Any original work/assets you add however are again, your copyright, license as you wish.
User avatar
PeterBitt
Posts: 144
Joined: 25 Mar 2013, 18:49
Location: Berlin
Contact:

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by PeterBitt »

Alright thanks for the explanations! That sounds awesome.

But what about the UI? Since it uses texture files will it be enough to just replace those with a different color? I think this could be problematic?
User avatar
Greendogo
Posts: 1467
Joined: 26 Aug 2011, 02:04

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by Greendogo »

Yes that's enough. The download you get from OpenMW.org (or GitHub) contains no Bethesda owned material, so yes, you need to add textures for certain things like the UI.

Edit: And by certain things, I mean everything, because it basically comes with no textures. Imagine OpenMW as a frame or skeleton. Over the years the Morrowind community has done a great job at creating new muscles and new skins for the original Morrowind skeleton. Those muscles and skins should fit into the new OpenMW skeleton with no extra work (beyond creating the plugin files for things like exteriors/interiors/quests/dialogue, etc.). It takes less work to wrap your head around if you just try it out or play around with Morrowind mods using the OpenMW engine.
User avatar
psi29a
Posts: 5356
Joined: 29 Sep 2011, 10:13
Location: Belgium
Gitlab profile: https://gitlab.com/psi29a/
Contact:

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by psi29a »

PeterBitt wrote:Alright thanks for the explanations! That sounds awesome.

But what about the UI? Since it uses texture files will it be enough to just replace those with a different color? I think this could be problematic?
This is already done for you in the template. Everything you need to get going without openmw failing to load is done already for you. If you want to change the colour, go ahead. It even includes a very basic animated first and 3rd-person skeleton/body "moon boy" thanks to Destined. Also CC-BY.
User avatar
PeterBitt
Posts: 144
Joined: 25 Mar 2013, 18:49
Location: Berlin
Contact:

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by PeterBitt »

Very nice, I might give this a try! Thanks for all your effords.
psi29a wrote:This is already done for you in the template.
For me?! Wow that was not nessesary :D
I might have the one or the other model to spare for this project later on. But dont forget I was making and uploading mods since roughly 5 years, its not like I dont give anything in return. I did my fair share of unpaid work hours for nothing, so much wasted time.
User avatar
psi29a
Posts: 5356
Joined: 29 Sep 2011, 10:13
Location: Belgium
Gitlab profile: https://gitlab.com/psi29a/
Contact:

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by psi29a »

PeterBitt wrote:For me?! Wow that was not nessesary :D
I might have the one or the other model to spare for this project later on. But dont forget I was making and uploading mods since roughly 5 years, its not like I dont give anything in return. I did my fair share of unpaid work hours for nothing, so much wasted time.
Not literally for you, but for anyone that wants something ready to use and modify.

What you've done is pretty incredible and I'm certainly no artist... just a pragmatist. However if I can spare you a few days and headaches to get down to what you want to do without having to deal with the all the little details, great! :)

The Example-Suite (ES) is where all the real action is anyway. The ES uses the Template.

I'm not sure why you would consider your time wasted. I do it for my own selfish reasons. :)
User avatar
PeterBitt
Posts: 144
Joined: 25 Mar 2013, 18:49
Location: Berlin
Contact:

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by PeterBitt »

psi29a wrote:Not literally for you, but for anyone that wants something ready to use and modify.
I was not serious with this one :D
And finally I think I fully understand what the Example Suite is meant for and that it really is quite awesome to have!
Keep up the great work guys!
maqifrnswa
Posts: 180
Joined: 14 Jan 2013, 03:57

Re: making game with openmw question

Post by maqifrnswa »

PeterBitt wrote:
psi29a wrote:Not literally for you, but for anyone that wants something ready to use and modify.
I was not serious with this one :D
And finally I think I fully understand what the Example Suite is meant for and that it really is quite awesome to have!
Keep up the great work guys!
Another good thing about the example suite: Bethesda doesn't really want their games on platforms they were not designed for (e.g., Android), but if there is an example suite, then people can use openmw to design games for android since there is no reason to need any bethesda assets on Android!
Post Reply