Starter questions, these seem to be fairly common on both this forum (before the wipe) and on the OL project site.

Q1: Is Openlancer a Freelancer mod? -or- Is Freelancer required to play Openlancer?
-- A: (updated) No, Openlancer is a completely new game and Freelancer is not required to play. There were tentative plans for a special version of Openlancer which would have acted as a Freelancer game engine replacement, but this was scrapped due to a mix of technical headaches and a general lack of interest from the development team. Instead we will offer support to anyone looking at creating a FL engine replacement using OL's engine (as an independent project).

Q2: Does Openlancer violate Microsoft's copyright for Freelancer?
-- A: No, Openlancer is free and clear of the Freelancer copyright. Early on we did have some copyright issues but were unable to find a solution that allowed us to safely include the Lancers Canon (SL/FL history, storyline, names, locations, etc). Instead we are developing a new canon so that the community can have 100% control and legal ownership over the canon and all other intellectual property. Although thats relative, its a mix of creative commons and public domain, but if OL becomes popular a foundation could be setup as a legal front for the community (also useful if money ever becomes a factor).

Q3: When will Openlancer be released?
-- A: When its ready. This is mainly dependent on the amount and quality of community support the project receives.

Q4: Can I be a beta tester?
-- A: Yes but at this point beta testing is over a year off and we are not maintaining a list of people interested in beta testing. In the mean time you can alpha test (see mailing list on the SF project site), or download and compile the CVS (check the programming forums for status notes first).

Q5: Who is leading this project?
-- A: The Openlancer Committee is in charge, it consists of the OL site staff and development team group leaders. Its a democratic system, all major issues are put up for public discussion on the project forums and minor issues are handled in open discussion on IRC. Anyone can get involved.

Q6: Is Openlancer a Freelancer sequel?
No. In Nov-05 Openlancer did start out as a sequel with full use of the Lancers canon and a design guideline of "everything is the same as FL, except... " . The original design was scrapped in May-06 and a new from-scratch canon was started in Aug-06. Most of this was due to copyright issues, some of it was also due to our wanting to craft an original game which can stand on its own. Now the name and some similar gameplay dynamics are the only things in common.

Q7: Is Openlancer dead? -or- Why no forum activity on TLR?
-- A: There was a split between OL and TLR, a few OL developers got tangled up with trying to help TLR by using OL as a means to revive TLR, but after 6 months of debate OL cut ties with TLR. Since then OL has moved on independently and is in the process of starting a new gaming community to support OL development.


Note: Formatting doesn't matter much but numbering questions does make them easier to reference without cluttering replies with quotes...that is, if anyone has a question.


-Burn

Edited by - megaburn on 9/19/2007 3:07:20 AM