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OpenRA is a libre/open source project recreating several real-time strategy games by Westwood Studios.[1]
The project is openly developed at GitHub.[2] Although developed by hobbyists the project is well established consisting of a mature codebase that is maintained by relative large development team.[3] Recent contributors have steered it towards adopting unit testing and static code analysis as well as setting up continuous integration services like Travis CI and AppVeyor to ensure quality.[4]
The game engine is written in C# using SDL for cross-platform support. It is access modern hardware using OpenGL for rendering and OpenAL for sound.[5] It uses the .NET Framework and runtime on Microsoft Windows and the Mono equivalent on Linux and Mac OS X.[6] Font rendering is implemented by accessing the FreeType library. Mono.NAT enables UPnP support for NAT devices like routers to ease multiplayer hosting.[7]
From a gameplay standpoint the engine doesn't aim for a perfect clone of the originals, but instead add contemporary features of the genre such as fog of war and unit veterancy.[8] The game features modern e-Sport grade features such as replay recording and playback.[9] Another major design goal was allowing players to create their own content such as maps and mods.[10] Mods re-imaging the original Command & Conquer, Red Alert and Dune 2000[11] were released by the developer team, while Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 are work in progress.[12]
To teach a practical lecture in software architecture professors at TU Delft let their students work on the OpenRA engine learn during the code review upon submission of the course work.[13] The developer team is also working together with media design students to let their research and development make it's way into the game engine, but to take extra pre-cautions to retain the pixel art style.[14]
References[]
- ↑ Perić, Vladimir. "Open-source games and cloning". LWN.net.
- ↑ "Showcase: Game Engines". GitHub Inc.
- ↑ OpenRA at Open Hub
- ↑ Abbink, Jasper; Evers, Peter; Verdoorn, Joost. "OpenRA". Delft Students On Software Architecture. Delft University of Technology.
- ↑ Duncan, Greg. "OpenRA = C# Red Alert/Command and Conquer Clone". MSDN Channel 9.
- ↑ Larabel, Michael. "OpenRA: Command & Conquer On Linux, Powered By Mono". Phoronix.
- ↑ "Showcase of popular applications". Mono project.
- ↑ Stahie, Silviu. "Play Classic Remakes on Linux of C&C: Tiberian Dawn, C&C: Red Alert, and Dune 2000". Softpedia.
- ↑ "Battle Control Initialized!". GameReplays.org. Game Revolution.
- ↑ "OpenRA". ModDB. DBolical Pty Ltd.
- ↑ Meer, Alec. "The 10 Best Games Based On Books". Rock Paper Shotgun.
- ↑ Walker, Alex. "Tiberian Sun Is Getting Added To The Command & Conquer Fan Remake". Kotaku Australia.
- ↑ van Deursen, Arie. "Delft Students on Software Architecture: DESOSA 2015".
- ↑ Vogt, Raphael (2015). Protoyping of a rain and snow system in the C&C: Red Alert remake OpenRA. Documentation of a generic process to expand a 2D video game in retro style with modern standard features. (B.Sc. thesis). doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.1023.0245.