Unity licensing questions, Open source + Multiplayer

Hello,

I am currently developing an open source game which allows users to create their own content within the game and host personal servers for others to join. I know some individuals in the past have had run into license issues with Unity over doing similar things and I have been hesitant to start in fear of something similar happening.

Do the Unity licenses allow me to do this? And if so, under what rules or regulations? I'm also highly curious how the Asset Store would tie into things, with the game being open source.

If it makes a difference, the game I'm designing, Awgen, is intended to be the gamification of a game engine. Allowing users to create full games as they play. Think something similar to Minecraft or Sims, but you're actually producing fully finished games as you play.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question and I hope you have a wonderful day.

 

- you're allowed to do whatever you want with your own code and assets you created, if you want to make them open source, it is up to you

- you are not allowed to to publish any code from Unity under any license let alone open source, you're not allowed to publish anything what Unity made, you can build into your game but are not allowed to distribute it as source
- you are not allowed to publish anything from the Asset Store, even if it was free. You are free to build into your application, but you aren't allowed to distribute them as source
- this is usually true to any asset you buy on stores (like Asset Store, CGTrader, etc)
- this is usually true to the assets someone else makes for you unless you sign a contract and it is part of the contract

 

Alright, that helps a lot, thank you. And I assume that means if I write my own networking code, I don't have to worry about stepping over any bounds with Unity's services, thing. Thanks, I really appreciate it.

 

If you write your own network code, that is completely fine.

 

Just a quick heads-up in case you were planning on using it the GPL is not compatible with Unity due to the way it forces code to be under the GPL when linked to code under the GPL.

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en.html#GPLStaticVsDynamic

 

*insert not-a-lawyer disclaimer here*

Are you gonna build a new exe/"build" when the player makes a game?
If not (and i dont know how you would), its considered a level editor imo, you can let your players use content from the shop and etc. as long as it's confined to the build you release.

 

You can also offer your in house source openly, and note that your project requires a list of assets from the store. Though you're then depending on those assets not changing in a way which breaks the project, or not getting deprecated.

 

I probably won't be using the Asset Store at all, and will only be making my own assets from scratch. Too many holes to jump through otherwise. Plus rolling my own makes the game a bit more unique.

As for how the game compiles, basically, Awgen runs by allowing users to host their own Java server, and allowing users to connect to it from the client made in Unity. Game devs can then, through the client, upload assets and plugins to the server as they play and design the game. After they're ready for release, all adjustments and basically the entire game itself is just stored on the server, while players are able to use the client to play on it. If they want to distribute the game, it sends a copy of the client and the server for the client to connect to localhost.

I'm hoping to allow users a free range of what they do with their completed Awgen-games. While I'm not worried about the Java side of things being an issue, A Unity client is still needed to connect to the server and would have to be distributed along with every copy of the published Awgen-game. It's no editor code or anything, just the compiled Unity game.