Frequently asked questions

What is Worldforge?

WorldForge is a community of free game developers focused on developing software, music, art, code and content for free online games. At its heart the community is developing a flexible platform for multiplayer online games, and a demo game called Deeds that takes place in the fantasy game world called Dural.

When can I play?

Now, if you’d like, but keep in mind that many things are still under development. As we learn how to make games, and gradually improve the server, client and core libraries, you can expect to see the games grow in sophistication and coolness. WorldForge games will always continue to improve and expand over time.

Where can I download the software?

You should visit our main download page, to discover what software is available for your use.

Is everything really free?

Yes. Most of our source code is covered by the GNU General Public Licence (GPL) and everything else is available under a compatible license. A few libraries are released under the LGPL. For libraries we however recommend the MIT license, as it allows code to be used throughout the game development community. We only accept code under GPL-compatible or MIT licenses. Our art and other content is covered by the disjunction of the GNU Free Documentation License and the GPL. You can, of course, create your own game using our source code and art. Make sure you know what the licenses mean before distributing WorldForge code or art!

Are there servers to connect to?

Yes, you will find a listing of all the currently available game servers when you load the game client.

Who’s in charge of the project?

Responsibilities have shifted during the years, and as of 2022 most of the development and maintenance fall on Erik Ogenvik. As people join and leave the project this might very well change.

What operating systems are supported?

Client software is designed to be as cross-platform as possible. Currently, we have client software for GNU/Linux, MacOSX and Windows. Most of the developers use a GNU/Linux, and so it is the best supported.

Server code is targeted only at a UNIX-like environment, and there are no firm plans to port it to other operating systems. If you want to see our software running on your platform of choice, please work with us to make it happen.

How does Worldforge compare to other online games?

One could look at WorldForge as simply a “free” version of MMORPGs, and while freedom is indeed important, it belies several fundamental aspects of WorldForge that are missing in commercial game systems. Most importantly, our source code is open and designed to be easy to get into and use. This means that WorldForge, unlike the commercial games, could evolve into an unlimited number of different kinds of games, as players and users tweak the system to create new things.

The WorldForge framework also makes debugging and bugfixing much easier, as all users are able to look for problems. In addition, we aim for a huge amount of flexibility through the use of externalized scripting. We intend to supplement this flexibility by relying on our gaming community to help us develop art, music, AI scripts, economic rules, etc. in a similar fashion that other commercial games rely on their modding communities to constantly reinvent their products.

Keep in mind that WorldForge is available to be used, modified, sold, and customized in any way you wish, as long as you keep the code free and open for others.

Where can I see examples of the gameplay?

Screenshots and videos of existing gameplay and world building features can be found in the gallery.

How do I join the project?

To join the project go to Gitter chat and inquire there. We also provide an “Open Chat” feature to the right on this site.

How can I promote the WorldForge project?

There are a lot of things that are okay, like putting up a banner on your own personal webpage, adding it to your signature, or telling your real life friends about it. Announcements to newsgroups and bulletin boards should strictly be done by the folks who have already been given that job.

In addition, we request that massive public posts be peer reviewed.

I would like to write an article about WorldForge or games…

Very cool! We love seeing stories of our project in the press. Drop us a note at general@worldforge.org so we can come check it out

….and may I include your art or screenshots in the article?

Of course, we love to see our work promoted! And we have licensed our work with the express aim of maximizing its reuse in other games, books, and articles. Just like GNU/Linux, we let you take our work, modify it to suit your needs, and even resell it for your own profit; however in exchange, we require that you pass those same rights along to the people you distribute to. There are several options regarding the legal reuse of WorldForge products, including individual pieces of art, text, or music:

You may create screenshots of our software, or quote from our website and use these in a published article as allowed under “Fair Use”. If your article will be licensed under the GFDL, then you are also free to reuse as much of our material (including logos, artwork, and any of the text from our website or games) as you wish, without express permission. WorldForge’s charter is the advocacy of freedom of gaming, rather than freedom of publishing, but we sincerely applaud those who see the chivalry in making articles about game freedom, licensed in kind. If your article will be released under an “open source” or “free publication” license similar in some fashion to the GPL or GFDL, then WorldForge can hold a project-wide vote to allow the work to be used under that license. If you ask the individual(s) who created the artwork that you wish to include, they may grant you special permission to use the artwork under alternative licensing conditions. For example, they might be willing to let you use their work without having to pay for it, if you give them attribution in the article. You will need to make arrangements with each artist on a case-by-case basis, because WorldForge does not hold legal ownership of the copyright of their works. You can also consider creating a separate “sideboard” GFDL’d article with the artwork in it, separately from the main article, which then can be covered under any other license. Please note that using the GFDL does not imply that you must give up ownership over the copyright. It only specifies how you wish users to use your copyrighted work. And please respect the copyrights of our writers and authors; they chose to release the work under the GFDL rather than put it in the public domain in order to promote freedom, and we are certain you can see the importance for polite vigilance in protecting their work’s freedom.

I want to use your software to build my own game, can I?

Our game engine and content have been released under free licences. You can use them to build whatever kinds of games you like, under the terms of those licences. Our software is licenced under the GPL, which means that you are free to use, modify and redistribute it, so long as you release the source code to any modified version you redistribute. You can supply your own content with the software under whatever licence you like, but we would encourage you to pool resources with the project and release them to under a free software licence. You are free to charge to connect to a game server and for any services you provide using our tools and media.