Transport Tycoon Forums

With the popularity of mobile apps and increasing, TTD would make one most triumphant game!

-T3n

... but then Apple has to allow applications under the GPL (license) to be placed on their store. However, for that to be legal they have to loosen their Terms of Service, which they don't like. So everybody having an iPad and wanting to play OpenTTD on it: you're owned by Apple.

i'm sure it would be received well on cydia.

I just visited the forums to suggest the same thing and noticed this post. I definitely think there is an opportunity to develop an iOS version of TTD.

Could you explain what you mean about the GPL licence?

The license on a piece of software(code) says under which restrictions one is allowed to use this product. Eg. If you "buy" Windows you do not actually buy the product, but you obtain a license to install that piece of software on a hardware system under some restrictions. A GPL license is one of many license forms under which Open Source Software can be released. To put it simple this GPL license says that one can use the product as it is offered, and one can make changes to that piece of software as one desires with one major restriction: you have to share the changes you made with the rest of the world if you offer compiled code.
Now there is a general issue with GPL software and the Apple Store: the GPL license is not compatible with the Apple Store license as so GPL software cannot be found in the Apple Store.

For more information on software licenses, just take a look at wikipedia.org, there is a lot of information on that subject (take care though, those articles may not have been written by advocates or other experts).

I see, thanks for your explaination. I did read an article on Apple changing its terms and conditions but the article specifically focused on VLC media player and their iPhone version.

I'm not entirely sure how this open source project works, but someone with knowledge of the code base and the mechanics used in TTD could download Unity for free and develop a prototype for the app store. If it feels like it works then spring for a dev licence and sell the game on the app store.

By removing the need for a traditional games publisher the app store makes it relatively easy for you to get your own games out there, provided you stick to their rules.

mckenzie20 wrote:I see, thanks for your explaination. I did read an article on Apple changing its terms and conditions but the article specifically focused on VLC media player and their iPhone version.

VLC was pulled from the AppStore for the exact same reasons OpenTTD has been banned from it, too (yes, it has been there already in an unofficial version). So unless Apple changes their general terms of usage for the AppStore, OpenTTD won't be available via the AppStore. Their terms of usage are incompatible with OpenTTD's license. OpenTTD's license by all practical means cannot be changed as we cannot get consent from all contributors. Simple as that.

I suppose what I am suggesting is that maybe a few of the senior contributors here could get together and make an iOs app along the same lines as TT as they have knowledge of the mechanics and the code base. Obviously due to licencing you would have to start from scratch though...

Could be used to fund whatever a project like this costs? Or just as a side project for those guys to make money. I'd just like to play it on the train without getting my netbook out is all

Good luck with that.

mckenzie20 wrote:I'd just like to play it on the train without getting my netbook out is all

Buy a phone that extremely limited by the company that sells it to you. Use something like a Neo FreeRunner. Then you can install your (Linux) distribution of choice with added benefit that you can compile OpenTTD yourself and run it without needing to buy extra licenses and stuff from the people that sold you the phone.

mckenzie20 wrote:I'd just like to play it on the train without getting my netbook out is all

It's running on android as well.

mckenzie20 wrote:I suppose what I am suggesting is that maybe a few of the senior contributors here could get together and make an iOs app along the same lines as TT as they have knowledge of the mechanics and the code base. Obviously due to licencing you would have to start from scratch though...

You picked the worst possible people for the project, even if they would want to do it.

How can you start from scratch if you know exactly how the current code works, names of current classes, variables, etc?
I think if you'd go to court, any judge would say it is not an original work and thus it would fall under the GPL license again.


As for willingness (speaking for myself only), I see no benefit *at* *all* in spending 5-10 years of my free time to re-make a game already available for free. I much rather extend the already available game.