OpenArcanum

[nuti-naguti]

What's purpose of the project?
The OpenArcanum project is aimed at bringing a new game engine for the original game - Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura. This new engine tries to clone the original engine as much as possible, except this new one is going to be open-source, cross-platform, modding-friendly and feature rich.

What's name of this engine?
AGate is the name of engine that powers up the OpenArcanum game.

Will I be able to play a original Arcanum campaign with this engine?
Yes. Everything you know from Arcanum is going to be in OpenArcanum as well.

If there are going to be a new features, does it means that I can't play original Arcanum campaign?
No. You'll be still able to play original Arcanum campaign as before. There will be a two modes/versions of OpenArcanum. A one that will allow you to play Arcanum as you know - let's call it a clone version, and another version, the extended one, that will aim at improving Arcanum's gameplay and implementing a new features, so you'll be able enjoy this game even more.

What's features of the clone version?
-Crossplatform.
-Multilingual.
-Extremely modifiable and modder friendly.
-Advanced GUI system, also very modifiable via gui and lua scripts.
-Better and easier scripting with Lua language.
-Support for any screen resolution, including dual monitor settings.
-Better support for fullscreen and window mode.
-Support for 3D graphics and 2.5D mode (rendering 3D models into 2D world).
-Hardware acceleration for both 2D and 3D graphics.
-Full OpenGL support, up to version 4.0.
-Advanced OpenGL features, such as shaders, framebuffers, antialiasing, anisotropic filtering, etc.
-Support for more image file formats. (BMP, TGA, JPG, PNG, etc.)
-Client-server architecture, for both singleplayer and multiplayer.
-Integrated IM client, including IRC protocol.
-Possibility to create a dedicated server, for multiplayer gameplay.
-Build-in map editor, with possibility to edit and play at same time.
-Camera zooming.
-Console, advanced debugging and logging.
...and many more!

What new features are planned for the extended version?
-Coop mode. You will be able to play singleplayer campaign over the internet.
-Fixed/Improved/tweaked combat system. For example NPC's will cast spells more often.
-Weather system. Advanced ambient, raining, thunderbolts, snowing, etc.
-Real water. Rivers and seas with dynamic and real looking water.
-Random map generator. A new locations, quests and other stuff like that.
-Fully destroyable world.
-Enchanted multiplayer. Increased number of players up to 1000 or even more.
-New multiplayer modes, such as Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, etc.
-New items, npc, quests and voices.
...and many more!

You say up to 1000 players. Is it going to be a MMORPG?
No. Not in the way you would probably think of it. The gameplay style stays same, only player capacity is going to be increased.

How far its from being finished?
The engine is still under extensive development. The game as well. Currently mainly working on a Linux port and GUI system.

When the project started?
All began in 2008, exactly at 18th of November. Which means that project is running for over two year!

What's already finished?
Basic engine implementation, that includes client-server architecture, networking, rendering, map and object loading, and other stuff. A lot of more advanced features are already implemented as well. A detailed list of tasks that were successfully completed will be posted later, as soon as it gets assembled.

What yet needs to be done?
A gameplay logic, artificial intelligence, sound subengine, and other stuff. A detailed list of current and planned tasks can be found at our toodledo.com page.

Is there any way I can help?
Surely, there is. If you are good in anything like graphics, 2D or 3D, music composing, voice acting, lua scripting, designing, or just getting a good ideas, you are very welcomed to join and help with anything you want. Don't worry about lack of tasks, there is plenty of things that can be done. If you are interested in helping, please PM me, or post a reply to this topic. You'll be also properly credited for you work, of course.

Another way how to help is also by donating some money via paypal. Your donation will be used for buying a computer/server, where OpenArcanum's multiplayer server will be running on, 24/7, so there will be always at least one server online which means everybody will be able to play at any time. Only machine is needed, we have fast connection for free already. No monthly payments, so we are going to be independent. Also you're going to be credited and promoted to d(et)onator status at our forums.

If you wish to donate something, please let me know via PM, I'll send you info.

(Total amount of money donated for the server: $0)

What platforms are going to be supported?
As usual - MS Windows, Linux and probably also Mac OS X.

In which programming language is the engine and game written?
Everything is written in C/C++, but doesn't use any C++ standard libraries such as STL and Boost.

What third-party libraries are going to be used?
Very few when compared to other projects that are similar to this one, since a lot of stuff was written by me, Crypton. The list contains: OpenGL, OpenAL, lua, zlib, nedmalloc. That's all. (Also freetype2 is used, but not directly in OpenArcanum, because its used in a FontGen - tool that generates fonts for OpenArcanum.)

Who's currently working on the project?
At this moment, only one person is working on the project. This person, me, is doing everything that needs to be done, including programming, designing, webmastering, writing such things like this one, and any other stuff you can ever think of. Hopefully, some other talented people will join to this project soon, so this project might progress much faster.

Is this OpenArcanum going to be for free?
Yes. Its completely non-profit project, so its for free, the only thing you will need, in order to be able to play, is to buy/own a original game - Arcanum. Its also possible to play a demo version, in this case you'll need to download Arcanum's demo version from the internet.

Is it going to be a standalone game?
No. We can't release any of the Arcanum's original game resources, since we don't have a license for that, so consider this project as some kind of modification, which means that you'll need to own Arcanum.

Is this project open-source? Is source codes available?
No - not yet. At this moment, the engine is currently developed privately, as closed source. Source codes are going to be released some day (probably when first tech demo or beta gets released), under some non-profitable open-source license, and if not, the engine will be greatly scriptable anyway, so it will be possible to modify (almost) anything you want. The reason for such decision is that this project is completely non-profiting and doesn't want to support other projects that are going to profit on you.

Are there any other projects similar to OpenArcanum?
Yes. At least two - "Arcanum: Revolution" and "Arcanum 3D". Both developed by Russian teams at ArcanumClub.ru forums.

Is it possible to make a sequel or prequel for Arcanum?
Yes. Anything like that is possible after AGate and OpenArcanum gets finished. However, everything needs to be released as modification for original Arcanum.

Is it possible to play other modules and fan-made mods?
Yes. It will be possible to convert other modules for the OpenArcanum by using a converter tool which is going to be released along with the OpenArcanum.

Are there any screenshots or videos from the OpenArcanum?
Yes. Some screenshots and videos can be found at our website or here at our forums, but you need to search for them. Also some pictures are posted at our facebook page. Latest video, a one year old, can be found here.

Is this even legal?
Yes. There are a plenty of very similar projects that are perfectly legal. As long as we release it as modification for original Arcanum, everything should be without problems. No copyright infringement intended!

Is multiplayer going to be compatible with Arcanum?
No. We don't have access to Arcanum's source codes, so it won't be possible to connect these two games together.

Will it be possible to start a dedicated server?
Yes.

I am not author of this project, i just want say - job that was done is great. But its really needs help. At first more attention from people to motivate developer continue his work

http://arcanum.game-alive.com/forums/index.php