Realms at War (Campaign Concept)
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CarpeGuitarrem
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Realms at War (Campaign Concept)
Okay, I'll start with the honest truth here...I'm kinda self-promoting with this campaign idea. The reason being, Realms at War is a free, online Collectible Card Game that I've been developing for a while now. And it just occurred to me that setting it in Wesnoth would be an ideal way to do it. I'd probably just change around a few things in the game, as long as I got permission to do so. And I figure that a campaign would be an excellent way to write the storyline.
Anyway, as far as storyline goes, I've got a few things that I know. One of them is that this story would work best during the infamous First Dark Age of Wesnoth (the part with almost no history filled in). The reason being, it involves a six-sided civil war, with a seventh side standing by to help whoever. And I have the factions (names probably could get changed)...
Rebellion: A coalition of peasants who have risen up against the existing rulers, because of injustices committed against them. They're incited to revolt by the leader Sammard, and one of their prominent warriors is the peasant-maiden Katrin, whose family was slain when her village was razed.
Erregind: A more refined faction, one which still cherishes the art of war, and makes use of many tactics. It has a balanced army, well-trained and disciplined. They are able to use defensive techniques, such as barricades.
Irondwellers: They live in the mountains, and will cling to their homes at whatever cost. They are stubborn, immovable, and fierce. They have also worked at siege weaponry and traps, such as rockslides.
Barbarians: Led by Khaggal the Wild, they seek to ravage all of the Sundered Realms, and to destroy all who oppose them. They are hot-blooded, and driven by bloodlust.
Arrohin: The horsemen of the Realms, they have a strict code of honor, one which does not permit betrayal. They are organized into strict clans, and are led by a single chieftain.
Shalshir: The swordsmen and rangers of the Realms. They also excel at fine, precise attacks. They are a swift, blitz faction, one which seeks to go in, get their target, and go out.
Royal: The ones in charge...yet, their claim on power is tenuous. They throw their lot in with whichever side seems the most powerful.
The whole storyline is sparked by a prophecy given, one which says that a hero shall bring order to the Sundered Realms, and unite them again. So, each of the factions seeks to produce this hero, in hopes of possessing a unified Realm.
Much of this could easily be ported to Wesnoth (Shalshir into Elves, Barbarians into Orcs), and Wesnoth would also offer ways to continue the story beyond the civil war (an undead threat, for example, which is the catalyst for uniting the factions).
Something really cool that I could see happening with this is the creation of a campaign that is playable from each of the six major factions' sides. Essentially, you'd play through a lot of the same battles, but from a different side. You would also, of course, have different battles unique to your faction, maybe one or two to set it up. And then, as factions united in alliances, eventually against the great threat of the undead, there would be no more divergence.
Anyway, just throwing these things out there. That just occurred to me...
And I don't have a lot of time to devote to making a campaign, but I could do my best. I don't know, are there a lot of campaigns being collaborated on?
Anyway, as far as storyline goes, I've got a few things that I know. One of them is that this story would work best during the infamous First Dark Age of Wesnoth (the part with almost no history filled in). The reason being, it involves a six-sided civil war, with a seventh side standing by to help whoever. And I have the factions (names probably could get changed)...
Rebellion: A coalition of peasants who have risen up against the existing rulers, because of injustices committed against them. They're incited to revolt by the leader Sammard, and one of their prominent warriors is the peasant-maiden Katrin, whose family was slain when her village was razed.
Erregind: A more refined faction, one which still cherishes the art of war, and makes use of many tactics. It has a balanced army, well-trained and disciplined. They are able to use defensive techniques, such as barricades.
Irondwellers: They live in the mountains, and will cling to their homes at whatever cost. They are stubborn, immovable, and fierce. They have also worked at siege weaponry and traps, such as rockslides.
Barbarians: Led by Khaggal the Wild, they seek to ravage all of the Sundered Realms, and to destroy all who oppose them. They are hot-blooded, and driven by bloodlust.
Arrohin: The horsemen of the Realms, they have a strict code of honor, one which does not permit betrayal. They are organized into strict clans, and are led by a single chieftain.
Shalshir: The swordsmen and rangers of the Realms. They also excel at fine, precise attacks. They are a swift, blitz faction, one which seeks to go in, get their target, and go out.
Royal: The ones in charge...yet, their claim on power is tenuous. They throw their lot in with whichever side seems the most powerful.
The whole storyline is sparked by a prophecy given, one which says that a hero shall bring order to the Sundered Realms, and unite them again. So, each of the factions seeks to produce this hero, in hopes of possessing a unified Realm.
Much of this could easily be ported to Wesnoth (Shalshir into Elves, Barbarians into Orcs), and Wesnoth would also offer ways to continue the story beyond the civil war (an undead threat, for example, which is the catalyst for uniting the factions).
Something really cool that I could see happening with this is the creation of a campaign that is playable from each of the six major factions' sides. Essentially, you'd play through a lot of the same battles, but from a different side. You would also, of course, have different battles unique to your faction, maybe one or two to set it up. And then, as factions united in alliances, eventually against the great threat of the undead, there would be no more divergence.
Anyway, just throwing these things out there. That just occurred to me...
And I don't have a lot of time to devote to making a campaign, but I could do my best. I don't know, are there a lot of campaigns being collaborated on?
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Viliam
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Just make sure if it is legal to make such game. Actually we need to know two things:
a) is it legal to do it?
b) is it legal to distribute it under GNU GPL?
The consequences:
a) needs to be "yes" so that you can discuss the topic on this forum, and get some help from others;
b) needs to be "yes" so that you can publish the faction on the add-on server, when it is ready.
a) is it legal to do it?
b) is it legal to distribute it under GNU GPL?
The consequences:
a) needs to be "yes" so that you can discuss the topic on this forum, and get some help from others;
b) needs to be "yes" so that you can publish the faction on the add-on server, when it is ready.
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CarpeGuitarrem
- Posts: 250
- Joined: November 19th, 2007, 7:46 pm
- Location: One among the Fence
I think it's legal, since (being the creator of it) I hold all copyrights associated with the Realms game (with the exception of the Lackey engine, which is not associated in any way with the Realms at War setting). So from that end (porting Realms to Wesnoth), it shouldn't be a problem. (And I can verify that I am the individual who made Realms)
So this wouldn't be like a typical case of copyrighted material, since the owner of the copyright would be giving full permissions.
So this wouldn't be like a typical case of copyrighted material, since the owner of the copyright would be giving full permissions.
That is good to know. 
But the content must be released under the GNU GPL. This may have several implications for you, the author, if you licensed that material under a paid non-permissive license.
But the content must be released under the GNU GPL. This may have several implications for you, the author, if you licensed that material under a paid non-permissive license.Author of the unofficial UtBS sequels Invasion from the Unknown and After the Storm.
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CarpeGuitarrem
- Posts: 250
- Joined: November 19th, 2007, 7:46 pm
- Location: One among the Fence
I'm confused, slightly. Slightly majorly. Could you expand on that a little?
EDIT: As far as I can tell, the GPL doesn't apply. What I'm talking about does not involve software. I don't believe that whether Lackey falls under GPL is at issue here. And in that case, what I designed was merely images, a story, and associated names for a plugin designed for Lackey. I don't believe, based on my examination of this, that there should be an issue. There's no actual software in question.
EDIT: As far as I can tell, the GPL doesn't apply. What I'm talking about does not involve software. I don't believe that whether Lackey falls under GPL is at issue here. And in that case, what I designed was merely images, a story, and associated names for a plugin designed for Lackey. I don't believe, based on my examination of this, that there should be an issue. There's no actual software in question.
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CarpeGuitarrem
- Posts: 250
- Joined: November 19th, 2007, 7:46 pm
- Location: One among the Fence
I'll try to explain my best, with the closest case I have... Duke Nukem 3D, by 3D Realms.
The game has a 1 episode shareware version. You can get it for free. The rest is paid for. Even the program, until some years ago. The authors and the company (3D Realms) released the source code of Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition (1.5) under the GNU General Public License (v2 or later), but only the source code. It does not apply to the game contents, i.e. the art, music, levels and such. Only the program that runs the game. That is, you still have to go to a retail store, buy the game with its old-fashioned DOS-based engine, and get the source code of that engine for free in the Web, for free usage, at zero cost. That's your freedom in there. The authors still receive money for the game, even if the engine is technically speaking "gratis".
Now on to the reverse side I have no examples. But theoretically, you could have a game engine which is closed-source, but all its artwork, concepts and such GNU GPL. As long as you clearly state that the game engine is closed-source and not GNU GPL, as a special exception. And you distribute both parts (the game engine and the GNU GPL artwork) by separate, making the second available in the manner GNU GPL'd stuff should be.
So GNU GPLing your artwork/concepts/music/etc. doesn't tie your game engine to be GNU GPL, in theory. Nor viceversa: GNU GPLing the engine doesn't tie the artwork to be under the GNU GPL.
Although the GNU GPL has been, historically, applied to software, it practically has no limitations on applications. As such, Wesnoth's artwork could be understood as a GNU GPL component apart from the game engine (which coincidentally is GNU GPL too). GNU GPL is, then, applied to music, software, artwork, concepts and whatnot, equally, nowadays. Although there are some alternate licenses to cover specific aspects of what art is and is not in freedom terms, they have their own flaws. And that is why, AFAIK, Wesnoth's artwork is published under the GNU GPL.
The game has a 1 episode shareware version. You can get it for free. The rest is paid for. Even the program, until some years ago. The authors and the company (3D Realms) released the source code of Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition (1.5) under the GNU General Public License (v2 or later), but only the source code. It does not apply to the game contents, i.e. the art, music, levels and such. Only the program that runs the game. That is, you still have to go to a retail store, buy the game with its old-fashioned DOS-based engine, and get the source code of that engine for free in the Web, for free usage, at zero cost. That's your freedom in there. The authors still receive money for the game, even if the engine is technically speaking "gratis".
Now on to the reverse side I have no examples. But theoretically, you could have a game engine which is closed-source, but all its artwork, concepts and such GNU GPL. As long as you clearly state that the game engine is closed-source and not GNU GPL, as a special exception. And you distribute both parts (the game engine and the GNU GPL artwork) by separate, making the second available in the manner GNU GPL'd stuff should be.
So GNU GPLing your artwork/concepts/music/etc. doesn't tie your game engine to be GNU GPL, in theory. Nor viceversa: GNU GPLing the engine doesn't tie the artwork to be under the GNU GPL.
Although the GNU GPL has been, historically, applied to software, it practically has no limitations on applications. As such, Wesnoth's artwork could be understood as a GNU GPL component apart from the game engine (which coincidentally is GNU GPL too). GNU GPL is, then, applied to music, software, artwork, concepts and whatnot, equally, nowadays. Although there are some alternate licenses to cover specific aspects of what art is and is not in freedom terms, they have their own flaws. And that is why, AFAIK, Wesnoth's artwork is published under the GNU GPL.
Author of the unofficial UtBS sequels Invasion from the Unknown and After the Storm.
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CarpeGuitarrem
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GPL vs. FDL
Just to correct this: Wikipedia is licensed under GNU FDL, a sister license of the GNU GPL. The both are not compatible.Aethaeryn wrote:GPL can apply to many things, even Wikipedia is licensed under the GPL.
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CarpeGuitarrem
- Posts: 250
- Joined: November 19th, 2007, 7:46 pm
- Location: One among the Fence