5 ms·

The license can be a problem for some studios, specially ones with uncomfortable contracts with publishers. If you are in that situation, I highly recommend wri

The license can be a problem for some studios, specially ones with uncomfortable contracts with publishers. If you are in that situation, I highly recommend writing a LuaJIT integration layer. The game code is very well separated from the engine, and qengine already removes a lot of non-generic game code from Q2. So all you have to do is delete a little bit more, write some glue code to tie in Lua, and you can write the entire game logic in a separate codebase, with a separate license. Also, you get moddability.

ufo 8y ago
I think using Lua scripting like that still counts as "dynamic linking" from the point of view of the GPL. https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#GPLPlugins https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#GPLPlugins
- sigstoat 8y ago
  probably so. https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIsGPL https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIs... also seems relevant. stallman's portion of https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2002/11/msg00217.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2002/11/msg00217.html too
- openbasic 8y ago
  Never thought of that. What if code is compiled to VM bytecode first?
  - DougBTX 8y ago
    The examples in the FAQ imply that they consider separate binaries that share “complex” data structures to be parts of the same program, blurring the line for what counts as dynamic linking.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- badsectoracula 8y ago
  The Lua interpreter itself would still be under GPL but the code that the Lua interprets would not since as far as the interpreter is concerned the script is data. The GPL even has a section on this: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIsGPL https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIs...
  - wtetzner 8y ago
    But the Lua scripts would be bound to the underlying game engine. I would all come down to whether or not a judge would see it as a derivative work.
  - ufo 8y ago
    Lua is MIT licensed. The point is that if you have a GPL game engine and use lua scripts to turn it into a full game then you also need to license the scripts as gpl if you want to distribute the game. (As others pointed out , oif you are looking for a loophole, game assets might be a better way to go)

ufo 8y ago

I think using Lua scripting like that still counts as "dynamic linking" from the point of view of the GPL. https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#GPLPlugins https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#GPLPlugins

sigstoat 8y ago
probably so. https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIsGPL https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIs... also seems relevant. stallman's portion of https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2002/11/msg00217.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-legal/2002/11/msg00217.html too
openbasic 8y ago
Never thought of that. What if code is compiled to VM bytecode first?
- DougBTX 8y ago
  The examples in the FAQ imply that they consider separate binaries that share “complex” data structures to be parts of the same program, blurring the line for what counts as dynamic linking.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
badsectoracula 8y ago
The Lua interpreter itself would still be under GPL but the code that the Lua interprets would not since as far as the interpreter is concerned the script is data. The GPL even has a section on this: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIsGPL https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#IfInterpreterIs...
- wtetzner 8y ago
  But the Lua scripts would be bound to the underlying game engine. I would all come down to whether or not a judge would see it as a derivative work.
- ufo 8y ago
  Lua is MIT licensed. The point is that if you have a GPL game engine and use lua scripts to turn it into a full game then you also need to license the scripts as gpl if you want to distribute the game. (As others pointed out , oif you are looking for a loophole, game assets might be a better way to go)