Contributing roles in the Fedora Games SIG
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
- Free Gamer
- Games4Linux
- Games for Linux
- Liberated Games
- Libregamewiki
- linuX-gamers.net
- Linux Game Tome
- Linux Gamer Guide
- Linux games at MobyGames
- Linux games at TIGdb
- HOLARSE (German)
- Ubuntu Games (Spanish)
Game List References
- Linux Gamers' Game List
- List of open source games at Wikipedia
- Debian games
- Huge list of games at linux.strangegamer.com
- First-person shooters with different levels of Freeness
- Top 21 Games of 2007, more in comments
- Live DVD games list
- SourceForge.net-hosted games
- Five addictive open source games, more in comments
- Allegro games genre -> listing -> show options -> "Source" to "yes" -> Apply
- Liberated Games, open/close source games that are gratis available
Documentation
Documentation for installation and configuration including screenshots for games in Fedora is available at Games.
Process
The Games SIG has three channels for communication. First, there is the fedora-games mailing 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.
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
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
- GtkRadiant - Game level editor for Doom and Quake
- xqf - Game Server browser supporting nexuiz and netpanzer among alot other and also commercial games and been packaged on newrpms before (feel free to takeover parts of the specs).
- Grapple - Grapple is designed to be a simple network layer, allowing the addition of multiplayer features to a game for as little as a dozen lines of code.
Games Being Packaged
- Mumble - Low-latency, high-quality voice communication for gamers
- secondlife - The Second Life client
- cave9 - Cave9 is a gravity cave-exploration game
- puzzles - A collection of one-player puzzle games
- openalchemist - Reflexion game
- chipmunk - A rigid body physics library - Currently bundled in new xmoto, would like to package standalone.
- spring - Real time strategy game
Orphaned Packages Needing Maintainers
No Currently Orphaned Games
Packagers/Reviewers/People interested
- JasonTibbitts
- MichaelThomas
- JohnMahowald
- MichelSalim
- HansdeGoede
- ChristopherStone
- ErickGoes
- HugoCisneiros
- RudolfKastl
- RahulSundaram
- PeterGordon
- MichałBentkowski
- StevenPritchard
- PeterLemenkov
- AurelienBompard
- RafałPsota
- JonCiesla
- AdamGoode
- AndreaMusuruane
- NigelJones
- XavierLamien
- PabloMartin-Gomez
- LucianLanga
- Stefan Posdzich
- Simon Wesp
- Alexey Torkhov
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 |
Aliens vs Predator | Linux port of the Fox Interactive / Rebellion Developments game, Aliens vs Predator | No free data |
Challenge Promode | Quake mod | Requires original full version quake3 datafiles |
Conquest | A real-time, multi-player space warfare game | Artistic License v. 1 |
Cube | Modern FPS | See Sauerbraten |
D2X-XL | OpenGL mod for the classic 3D game Descent 2 | Requires original datafiles |
Elite: The New Kind | Advanced Elite remake | Copyright holder asked developer to stop distribution |
Eternal Lands | Free fantasy MMORPG | Non-free data, too restrictive license |
Danger from the Deep | Submarine simulation | The artwork is CC At-Nc-Nd 2.0/2.5. Use autodownloader? |
(JF)Duke3D | Duke3d linux port | The build engine license is far from opensource [1] |
(most) emulators | Console, Hand-held, Arcade Emulators | Read this for details [2] |
Exult | A free ultima 7 engine | There is no free data for it |
FreeSCI | A virtual machine made to run many classic adventure games from sierra | There is no free data for it |
Frets on Fire | A Guitar Hero style game | Patent issues prevent us from including it |
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. |
High Noon with Smokin' Guns | 3D FPS | No free data |
Isabella Coq, Naturette II and III | AGI adventure games | Require AGIMouse, which is AWOL |
Jake2 | Java port of Quake2 | Requires original datafiles or demos. |
OpenTTD | Transport Tycoon | Requires Abandonware data files. Could we package just the engine? |
PlaneShift | Fantasy MMORPG | Although game sources are under GPL, game data license prohibits redistribution of any kind. Use autodownloader? |
Possible Worlds | 3D submarine warfare | Includes/requires FMOD, which is non-free, and some art/music might not be free |
Quake II | 3D FPS | No free data |
sauerbraten | 3D FPS engine | Various non commercial use clauses in the data. Use autodownloader? |
Scourge | A Role Playing game | The artwork isn't free. Use autodownloader? |
Secret Maryo Chronicles | Super Mario Chronicles clone | Too much like the original [3] |
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 |
Stepmania | A DDR style game | Patent issues prevent us from including it |
Tile Racer | Racing game | Needs the non free AGEIA PhysX SDK |
Trigger | A rally racing game | Contains pictures of real cars, including logo's & brandnames |
Warsow | FPS focussed on the art of movement | There was a plan to package this but the new content license is a mess |
WolfGL | A remake of well-known Wolfenstein, FPS from ID Software | Requires original datafiles |
Other links
This SIG was created on Feb. 7, 2006 by JasonTibbitts, and has been growing ever since. Nostalgia:
- http://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-extras-list/2006-February/msg00478.html
- http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Extras/SIGs/Games?action=recall&rev=1
References
- ↑ I've contacted Ken Silverman the author requesting to change it, but he doesn't want to do that.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ They are open for discussion [1] Maybe problematic things can be addressed? RolandWolters. Spot has outlined what it takes for the game to be acceptable for Fedora - RahulSundaram