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Revision as of 12:32, 9 August 2008 by Cassmodiah (talk | contribs)

Mission

Goal: to make Fedora the best Free software and open source gaming platform there is for both developers and users.

We aim to accomplish this goal through a variety of activities:

  • Creating high quality packages of games, gaming-related libraries, and game development tools
  • Documenting the available games, including wiki documentation and listing in comps.xml
  • Providing a forum where users and developers can discuss issues related to current games, requests for new games to be packaged, and game packaging issues (but not game playing help, so don't bother asking how to kill the wumpus!)
  • Seeking publicity for games in Fedora
  • Actively review each other's game packages to shorten the time it takes to get games approved and imported into Fedora Package Collection
  • Design additional guidelines on top of the Fedora Packaging guidelines that are specific to games
  • Help each other fix bugs that have been filed against game packages
  • Alerting each other about orphaned and soon-to-be orphaned games so that we can prevent their removal

Gaming News sites

Game List References

Documentation

Documentation for installation and configuration including screenshots for games in Fedora is available at http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Games

Process

The Games SIG has three channels for communication. First, there is the fedora-games-list mailing list. Subscription information can be found at http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-games-list

Second, there is this wiki page. Want to suggest a game? Just add it to the Games of Interest list. Working on packaging a game, or need a review for your game-related package? Just add it to the Games Being Packaged list. Interested in joining the SIG? Just add your WikiName to the list.

Third, we have an IRC channel, #fedora-games, on irc.freenode.net.

New packaging guidelines are created on an as-needed basis. As issues arise with game packages they are discussed. If the issue affects other games then we discuss the issue in the bugzilla ticket where the issue was first found, which is often the review request for a new game. Once the issue has been discussed and a solution agreed upon, the package review completes. This serves as the first test for the new guideline. If the guideline is acceptable, that is, no problems are found after the package has been pushed to the repo, then we add the guideline to the wiki. Existing packages are not modified to conform to newer guidelines until they are updated/patched for other reasons (new version available, bug fixing). See the bugzilla ticket for shippy for an example of this process: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=186993

The guidelines that we develop are in addition to, not a replacement for, the standard Fedora Packaging guidelines. Any guidelines that we feel should become standard Fedora Packaging policy will of course be brought up on the Fedora packaging mailing list. The Games SIG mailing list can be used to propose and discuss new packaging guidelines.

Games Packaging Guidelines

WishList

Fedora Games Spin (Live CD/DVD) Project

GamesLive

Available Games

There are pointers to descriptions of some individual games on the Games list . This list and the individual descriptions is intended for end users who want to get more information on what games are available for Fedora and to help them get started playing the individual games. This is an attempt to help squash the misconception that there are no real games for Linux. Feel free to add a description of your favorite game that is already available in Fedora. Try to avoid including information that is already included in the spec file, with the exception of the %description or %summary and %url. Do include any post-install instructions, how to play information, client and server configuration details (or pointers to manpages), and screenshots.

Game Support Tools of Interest

Games Being Packaged

Orphaned Packages Needing Maintainers

No Currently Orphaned Games

Packagers/Reviewers/People interested

General Issues

  • We need more interested packagers.
  • non-commercial clauses in game licenses render them invalid for inclusion into Fedora Package Collection. Such games are not Free and open source software and violates Clause 6 of the OSI definition . An example can be found in Moria and its derivatives such as angband:
This software may be copied and distributed for educational, research, and not
for profit purposes provided that this copyright and statement are included in
all such copies.  Other copyrights may also apply.

List of games we will NOT package

Name Description Why it won't be packaged
Most Emulators Console, Hand-held, Arcade Emulators Read this for details*
FreeSCI A virtual machine made to run many classic adventure games from sierra There is no free data for it
Danger from the Deep Submarine simulation The artwork is CC At-Nc-Nd 2.0/2.5. Use autodownloader?
Exult A free ultima 7 engine There is no free data for it
Scourge A Role Playing game The artwork isn't free. Use autodownloader?
Stepmania A DDR style game Patent issues prevent us from including it
Frets on Fire A Guitar Hero style game Patent issues prevent us from including it
Trigger A rally racing game Contains pictures of real cars, including logo's & brandnames
OpenTTD Transport Tycoon Requires Abandonware data files. Could we package just the engine?
(JF)Duke3D Duke3d linux port The build engine license is far from opensource**
Funny Boat Funny arcade sidescroller Music is CC At-Nc-Hd 2.5. Use autodownloader? Post to fedora-music list and other packages and request replacements.
Isabella Coq, Naturette II and III AGI adventure games Require AGIMouse, which is AWOL
sauerbraten 3D FPS engine Various non commercial use clauses in the data. Use autodownloader?
SMC (Secret Maryo Chronicles) Super Mario Chronicles clone Too much like the original ***
Possible Worlds 3D submarine warfare Includes/requires FMOD, which is non-free, and some art/music might not be free
PlaneShift Fantasy MMORPG Although game sources are under GPL, game data license prohibits redistribution of any kind . Use autodownloader?
SoulFu 3d rogue like (continuation of egoboo by original author) Sources have GPL headers, README gives all kind of bogus clauses incompatible with GPL, data status unclear
Tile Racer Racing game Needs the non free AGEIA PhysX SDK
Challenge Promode Quake mod Requires original full version quake3 datafiles
Warsow FPS focussed on the art of movement There was a plan to package this but the new content license is a mess
  • This does not mean we exclude emulators completely. Dosbox is an example of a great emulator for old DOS Games, and other DOS software, that has been included in Fedora. But generally, if it requires ROM files, image files, or a copy of the machines BIOS/firmware to work, we won't package it.
    • I've contacted Ken Silverman the author requesting to change it, but he doesn't want to do that.

References

This SIG was created on Feb. 7, 2006 by JasonTibbitts, and has been growing ever since. Nostalgia:

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