Hi.
Q: Is using the original X-Com resources legal?
A: It’s kind of a grey area. I contacted the copyright holders just to be sure but they never replied back, so I’m just playing it safe like every other remake.
The code is completely new and none of the copyrighted files are actually included with the project, players need their own copy of X-Com to get them from, so it should be fine.
Regarding this: why not make completely new resources from scratch in order to make the game completely FOSS without being dependent on proprietary resources? As I understand it's "just" the sound and graphics that are required from the original game. Then perhaps users could choose if they want to use the proprietary resources from the original game or the GPL (whichever license you use) ones bundled with OpenXcom.
If the game would be entirely free software, then it would qualify for inclusion in the repositories of Linux distros such as Debian (DFSG).
I realize that the hardcore X-Com fans probably don't want new or improved graphics (which is why users should be able to use the old graphics if they choose, but you already have support for that), but it would also make it possible to use for example SVG graphics in order to be able to use arbitrary resolution and still look good. I've experimented a little with SVG graphics in Java and it appears to work great (not just due to being scalable but also performance-wise, even when there is loads of stuff to render).
Maybe I'm missing something obvious but I think it would be a huge benefit (SVG or not). Legally, this is essentially what
FreeCiv did so I don't think there should be any legal problems (since this would not require the user to own a copy of UFO:EU).
