![]() ![]() When you run the client, you will see a button to create an account, but it was not functional while I was testing, so you may need to create an account separately. You will also need a free, 21 day trial account and the static binary for the native client. Otherwise, hardware requirements are well within the capacities of any modern computer. Playing with the native client requires 3-D drivers, which may be enough to discourage some users. From this perspective, the release of the free client, while relatively minor in itself, could become an important first step in the advancement of free software. However, free software needs to use the openings available, and the fact that Ryzom has English, French, and German speaking communities means that the game is potentially international in appeal, like free software itself. With some 3500 users at the start of the Free Ryzom Campaign, Ryzom is dwarfed by games like World of Warcraft, which claims over 12 million users. Brown also suggested that online games that are also free software could serve as "a test bed for 3-D drivers." If a significant proportion of gamers can be convinced to use free software, Brown suggested four years ago, then the fact can be used by the FSF to "apply pressure on video card manufacturers" to improve their support for 3-D drivers for GNU/Linux, a notorious weak spot in free software. Gamers are always hungry for increased speed or improved graphics, with the result that the requirements for gaming have always been a major influence on computer hardware capabilities. Of course, the Ryzom code and client have no affect on other existing games, but they offer the possibility that GNU/Linux can at least offer alternatives.Įven more importantly, a free software presence in online gaming can be an important strategy in the advancement of free software. ![]() This is an opportunity to jump ahead from where we currently are." We've always played a game of catch-up, and whilst you can get all sorts of interesting games for free software, at this level, we're just not there. It's an area that's very commercial, and it's very hard for the free software community to fund. Online games like World of Warcraft can be played on GNU/Linux using WINE, or on Windows on a dual-boot system, the extra steps are probably enough to discourage many people from using such arrangements.Īs Peter Brown, the FSF's executive director, told me during the Free Ryzom Campaign, " "When it comes to the barriers that keep people from using free software, one of the major ones has always been gaming. If you have been around computers and free software for any length of time, you should have no trouble understanding why.įor one thing, a lack of native games is seen by many as a major reason that GNU/Linux is not more widely used on the desktop. The Free Software Foundation (FSF), which pledged €60,000 to the unsuccessful Free Ryzom Campaign, has also been supporting the release of the code and the native Ryzom client. This code release opens the opportunity for other free software online games, but the Ryzom client is the first result. The news follows the announcement in May 2010 that the source code for the end-user client, content creation tools, and server were being released under the GNU Affero General Public License, and the artwork, including some 20,000 textures and 3-D objects, under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license. It's news that you don't need to be a gamer to appreciate. Now, four years later, after a convoluted history, the dream of the campaign supporters is coming true: Winch Gate, the current owner of Ryzom, is releasing a native GNU/Linux client, and announcing a contest to celebrate the fact. When the Free Ryzom Campaign failed to purchase the online role-playing game Ryzom, organizers promised that their effort was just the beginning.
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