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OpenRA: Open-source RTS game engine for games such as Command and Conquer

2022-04-2819:2637780github.com

Open Source real-time strategy game engine for early Westwood games such as Command & Conquer: Red Alert written in C# using SDL and OpenGL. Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD and Mac OS X. - GitHub ...

A Libre/Free Real Time Strategy game engine supporting early Westwood classics.

Please read the FAQ in our Wiki and report problems at https://github.com/OpenRA/OpenRA/issues.

Join the Forum for discussion.

Play

Distributed mods include a reimagining of

  • Command & Conquer: Red Alert
  • Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn
  • Dune 2000

EA has not endorsed and does not support this product.

Check our Playing the Game Guide to win multiplayer matches.

Contribute

Mapping

  • We offer a Mapping Tutorial as you can change gameplay drastically with custom rules.
  • For scripted mission have a look at the Lua API.
  • If you want to share your maps with the community, upload them at the OpenRA Resource Center.

Modding

Support

  • Sponsor a mirror server if you have some bandwidth to spare.
  • You can immediately set up a Dedicated Game Server.

License

Copyright 2007-2021 The OpenRA Developers (see AUTHORS) This file is part of OpenRA, which is free software. It is made available to you under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. For more information, see COPYING.


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Comments

  • By somethoughts 2022-04-2821:422 reply

    For more of an open source Age of Empire like experience - 0ad is quite good and moddable.

    https://play0ad.com/

    For modders - while the 0ad Pyrogenesis engine is C++ based - its interesting to note that the mods are javascript/XML based and somewhat grokkable - everything from the animation descriptors to economics/AI. You can even mod the UI menu elements using JS/XML.

    https://wildfiregames.com https://trac.wildfiregames.com/wiki/Modding_Guide

    • By Aachen 2022-04-2822:382 reply

      I tried playing 0AD a few times over the years. It's a beautiful game, or at least by standards at the time that I last played it, and if you compare to nearly any available open source free game, it really blows the competition out of the water. Also I don't remember seeing bugs and I think it's also multiplayer. All in all extremely impressive.

      The problem for me is that I don't understand it. It has been too long now to say what I've tried or where my confusion came from, but while the general concept of building a base to build an army is clear (because that's how AoE works), I think I was confused by the win condition, or something about being nearby enemy entities to convert them automatically iirc. I didn't know anyone else that played it so I'd have to explain it to friends to play it together, so instead I guess I moved on.

      Does anyone know a good site or video that explains the most important rules and mechanics from start to finish? I'd still be interested in playing this with friends if I can understand how it works. Or maybe I should just give it another stab now that I'm not a teen anymore.

      • By somethoughts 2022-04-2822:59

        I can't say I've actually played the game itself much as I'm mostly casually looking to add an economic mod to make it more similar to Anno1800/Settlers. :) I do recall you can win easier by taking over competiting towns. The nice part is that there's less risk for your friends since they don't have to buy anything. Just be be sure you're on the same version.

        There are some Youtube videos by Nookrium and Tom 0ad

        https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS-SFei6NFRuGN8CKtAsYrA

        Interestingly the base game itself is implemented as a huge mod and is mostly JS, so if you're willing to go spelunking.

        https://github.com/0ad/0ad/blob/master/binaries/data/mods/pu...

        https://github.com/0ad/0ad/blob/master/binaries/data/mods/pu...

      • By elihu 2022-04-291:231 reply

        I agree it's kind of confusing. It's been awhile since I played and I never understood it 100%, but anyways there are certain kinds of buildings that expand your territory, and their range of control goes up with tech level. If an enemy building is inside your territory, it gradually becomes yours. You can also surround an enemy building with your units to capture it.

        • By CameronNemo 2022-04-294:39

          You can also put your units inside the building to prevent it from being taken. For example a tower/turret that is empty can easily be claimed by your opponent. But if you put 5 people in there, it shoots more arrows and is much harder to capture.

    • By NicoJuicy 2022-04-294:322 reply

      Why is the top comment on an open source game always about 0ad :(

      • By squarefoot 2022-04-296:46

        Probably because 0AD is one of the best around in its category. I may not have understood it fully however as it's too hard for me to play; I always get crushed by enemies before I can grow to a significant level. One of my favorites among FOSS RTS has been Glest, then Megaglest: https://megaglest.org/

      • By pelasaco 2022-04-298:40

        that's like every post about ruby somebody comments about Crystal..

  • By dragontamer 2022-04-2820:332 reply

    It should be noted that "Red Alert: Remastered" is open source (but not free as in beer, probably not free as in freedom either).

    If you buy "Red Alert: Remastered" on Steam, there's a directory that lists the entire source code of Red Alert: Remastered.

    -------

    They probably did that because OpenRA was so popular, and that people would be curious how the original was also coded. The "Remastered" edition only came out in 2020.

    Warning: Red Alert: Remastered includes a bunch of x86 assembly files for 64-bit MMX SIMD. Some ugly, 90s-era assembly language there for pathfinding...

    • By Newtonip 2022-04-2821:571 reply

      They licensed it under the GPL3 so it's free software. You can also get it also from EA's GitHub:

      https://github.com/electronicarts/CnC_Remastered_Collection

      They only released the source to the game logic, not the full engine.

      And of course, the game data is not free.

    • By Buttons840 2022-04-2821:581 reply

      Open source means people could redistribute the code, is that the case? Or do you only mean the code is available to view, but you are not free to redistribute (which would not meet the definition of open source)?

      Tales of Maj'eyal is open source, you can redistribute or sell the source code of the engine, but the assets that comprise the game are not free.

      • By 8note 2022-04-2822:031 reply

        Open source generally means people can read the source.

        Anything past that gets to some specific license

        • By usrn 2022-04-2822:171 reply

          Most people call that "source available" which has a very different meaning.

          • By rat9988 2022-04-290:042 reply

            "Most" would depend of the bubble you live in. In mine, it's wrong.

            • By usrn 2022-04-290:102 reply

              I'm pretty sure "Open source" is a legally protected phrase owned by OSI with a precise definition.

              • By mindcrime 2022-04-293:53

                I'm pretty sure "Open source" is a legally protected phrase owned by OSI with a precise definition.

                It does have a precise definition (the OSD[1]), but OSI does not own the phrase in the sense of owning a (registered) trademark on it. They applied for such a trademark decades ago, but ultimately abandoned the application IIRC. That said, registered trademark or no, the OSD is by far and away the most widely accepted and used definition of what it means to be "open source". I'd argue that it is a de-facto standard, albeit not a de jure standard.

                [1]: https://opensource.org/osd

              • By folkrav 2022-04-291:332 reply

                This is far from the first time I see this discussion. If anything, it makes me even more heavily dislike the confusion created by using the word "open", which already carries a definition, to describe this concept that's actually more than "open". Free or libre software at least means what it says.

            • By npteljes 2022-04-2918:36

              While bubbles do exist, "open source" means readable and redistributable in both Wikipedia and Merriam-Webster, so I'd agree that mostly it means that.

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source

              https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/open-source

  • By hauxir 2022-04-2821:252 reply

    Another interesting project is Chrono Divide: https://chronodivide.com/

    It's Red Alert 2 reimplemented in Typescript.

    Unfortunately no source available but the dev does say he plans to release it once he feels comfortable with it.

    • By Already__Taken 2022-04-2822:49

      We used to have RA2 lan parties and now half of use grew up in to software engineers. Will be watching for this source to drop like a harrier.

    • By dTal 2022-04-2910:42

      This project is so impressive. It doesn't feel "off" at all like so many recreations. It really is Red Alert 2 in a browser, right down to the menu animations. So much attention to detail.

      Sadly, while you don't notice at first, it's missing a great many critical features, which render it much less fun to play.

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