F.A.Q

inlinetoc

Khaganat is the project to provide a number of tools and infrastructure to imaginary worlds. It is represented by the [association law 1901]. This concerns all the technical and organizational part, far from any roleplay consideration. The first major project is to be able to provide a usable MMORPG, but in the long term Khaganat also plans to develop a “help structure” for various artistic creations(novels, films, etc.), also giving the necessary tools for managing a community.

Khanat is the first “developed world” in the project. It's foremost a world before it's even a MMORPG! Thus a universe with internal coherence, it's own history, a geography, climates, local celebrities, etc. It is also part of an MMORPG and therefore(of course) an important part of the project.

A short explanation is available here. We have several wikis accessible to different addresses, each of it's wikis is devoted to a specific part of the project.

To learn how to use wiki (write / correct articles), useful information is there.

No, partly for legal reasons(see next question) and partly because it would be of no interest to us. Ryzom is already a great game, with an active and lively server. Even if you want to embark on a Pharaonic project, like may it be exploring other tracks, whether at the level of functioning or at the level of history, we then want to offer you a new experience and NOT present you with a new version of Ryzom.

The Atys universe(that serves as the framework for the commercial game Ryzom) was originally created by Nevrax and is not free, and is currently owned by WinchGate . All the names of creatures (kipee, yubo, …), characters (Mabreka, fyros, …), places (Thesos, Almati …), the sequence of events, past history and WinchGate is the exclusive property of WinchGate, which bought them at GameForge. It is absolutely impossible to reuse any element of the background of Ryzom(or it's Lore as it is commonly called). To make an identical copy of it would be no more and no less than counterfeiting!!

What can be used: server and client source code with all existing gameplay mechanisms, textures and existing 3D objects, and so the graphics of Fyros, Kipees, Yubos, etc… All this is available on Ryzom Core.

Not at all, just as the liberation of the sources was not detrimental to them. On the contrary, this allowed WinchGate to benefit from the experience of the free community to improve the game. Such a project is even beneficial to WinchGate for several reasons:

• It allows to document the tools of universe creation.
• It allows to analyze and to optimize the code of the client and the server.
• It is a laboratory of ideas and gameplay mechanisms, free and reusable by WinchGate.
• It can be a partner with which to exchange on technical problems or management of the game Ryzom.

Finally, this will not be a case of “depopulate Ryzom's server”, as it also advertises Winchgate, and can encourage people who do not know the original game to visit Atys.

In 2014, a collaboration between Ryzom and Khaganat was born around the project RyzomForge, to exchange skills and knowledge, and to benefit from each other experiences.

Rather than disperse them, it will multiply them. To leave on a completely free project is to take advantage of all the tools, resources and the functioning of the free world. The communities of the free world have an incredible dynamism that makes it possible to overcome pharaonic projects, provided that these projects are thought to work with them. It is the interest(of our project) to start from the bottom with this open functioning to give it it's full potential.

Khaganat is above all a free project, so everyone can take back the work that has been done and propose a game server running according to the classic modes, like with cash shop, with subscription, etc. But we want to explore other ways of financing. Currently, our expenses are low, we work on a voluntary basis and there are mainly(small) servers to pay… so we rely on a free gift approach. Everyone can give whenever he/she wants, what she/he wants.. and the option of giving nothing still applies.

In 2014, a collaboration between Ryzom and Khaganat was born around the project RyzomForge, to exchange skills and knowledge, and to benefit from each other experiences.

We then plan to fund some pieces of the project via “crowdfunding” and to set up an access priority on the game server accordingly to the donation amount. This means that as long as the server is not overloaded, everyone will have normal access to it, and if the latter becomes too busy with the money collected to pay for it, those who have paid will have priority to connect(and some of the people in “free” will probably not be able to to access). The goal being that everyone can play according to his/hers own means. Once in play, there will never be any difference between those who pay and those who do not pay.

Just go to the support (←- Does not exist!!) page. We suggest you support us in a monetary way, but there are many other ways to do it.. and this page lists these ways!

We currently have the ability to accept payments through Paypal and check, and accept incentives via “Flattr”. You can also go to Liberapay to support the team members. If you want to use another payment method, contact us and we will try to set it up.

Nothing!!

It's not that we do not want to, but we can't!! We are all volunteers. We plan to set up financing solutions for people participating in the universe of Khanat(or even on the Khaganat project).. (this is the reason why none of the essential elements of the world has an “NC”(non-commercial) clause in its Licenses) but for the moment nothing of this “is in place” and there is no community that would allow everyone to earn a few pennies in this way.

So it's just for the pleasure of participating in this crazy adventure.

Making money with a creation is not that simple. And with a license CC-BY-SA, you are credited as the original author. So if you take back the method that worked for the one who sells your work, you will probably make more profit because you will be the “source” to which people are going. But … since selling is a profession, and very different from that of creating, the most intelligent would(doubtless) be to have an agreement with this seller, where each one touches hers/his share, so that on one side you feed him, on the other he/she will make you the promotion. Everyone can win with this. Incidentally, when a painter exhibits in a gallery or perhaps a writer gets a publication, there are at least two people who touch the sub(the creator), and the one who puts it in front(editor or gallery). Whether the work is licensed or free, the problem is the same! Some artists will be exploited by sharks, others will instead earn their living. But … With a license to copyleft, you have not signed a contract that requires you to undergo this, you can propose something else at any time and that without ever losing rights on what you have done.

No!! What we add in the game(and the universe) must be compatible with our licenses because we redistribute the “whole” under a unified license and it's much more permissive than the CC-BY-ND-NC(we allow modifications and marketing). But you can put your creations on your personal website and leave it open for anyone who wants to. By the way, works under “NC” are very delicate to reuse, because as soon as you start making money, it can be assimilated to a commercial activity … For example to use a drawing under CC-BY-ND-NC on a site that has(besides) a pub banner(so that by doing this way earns a few euros per month) can be seen as an offense to the non-commercial side. Again, these are extremely unlikely.. but possible cases.

We can integrate the licensed work of: CC0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed CC-BY and CC-BY-SA. We credit the authors whose work we reprise on: this wikhan page, at a minimum.

Yes. Legally, CC-BY-SA Khaganat should be put on the picture. But there is no need even to ask Khaganat for permission to sell T-shirts or any other derivative work. On the other hand, your own work inherits the same license. So if your designer has/wants to redraw the pendo, this new vision is also under CC-BY-SA and we can therefore re-exploit it, for ex: Illustrating the article on the UM1 or print our own T-shirts.

If you make T-shirts inspired by our work(or any other object), do not forget to come and advertise it with us: we will be delighted to give you visibility!!

In theory, no. We go up the chain by going to the source. For example, following a CC-BY-SA Khaganat on assets, one falls on the CC-BY-SA Ryzom(which is the origin of the 3D models).

Yes and no. By putting a text under CC-BY-SA, we undertake morally to accept that even the character is taken over by others. But Khaganat adds a clause requiring that(for this specific point) one must first ask the agreement of the original author, saying that no one does anything with the personage if it's creator does not wish it to be re-exploited. In case of non-respect of this basic rule of courtesy, moderators will intervene.

No, and fortunately! The personal data of the people are not public: the information that each one will give us(for connection to the game server) will be exchanged only between each client and the “private” part of the server, to which only trusted people have access. The free stops(of course) personal data, meaning: “the code is free, not the account numbers”. In general, personal information and anonymity are data that we want to protect. We will only ask for the bare minimum needed data, and we will not exploit these data outside of Khaganat, and we will even do everything we can to ensure that this will remain between “each” person and Khaganat.

Yes and that's all about “hitting the head on the nail!!” It is the freedom to try to do better elsewhere, and because of this.. excellence can be born. We would be happy to see others reusing the basis of our work to develop their own universes and we dream of the day when we can make a multi-universe mmorpg with a network of quality servers. We also aim to animate this game server(for proposing more than code and assets). But we also take pleasure in the possibility that others create parallel worlds, bringing in another wealth(perhaps even better than we do) and in this case we will play and contribute to them!).

However, a “server costs money” and it even takes time to manage. It is also necessary to satisfy the people who visits(taking a stroll on it) the game and this can be very complex. One of the interests of a MMORPG remains to find an active and friendly community, in other words bringing the players together. This is what makes the viability of one server or another. These constraints makes it often easier to participate in an existing project rather than to embark on a new one. We can therefore assume that all players will find themselves on a limited number of servers(and those who are best managed). This freedom is therefore also a driving force towards excellence!

With the vision that “freedom enriches us and pushes us towards our best”, we can therefore never lose!! No one can say if Khanat will be an most successful server, but that does not bother us. We have fun in the present and are ready to “take up” this challenge, and that is all that counts for us.

And lastly, WHO is interested in making a private server replicating exactly the same concept??

For the code, yes, it allows “exploits” because the potential loopholes are public, but we also strive to have a policy that encourages people to report them.. rather than exploit them. Everyone is free to participate to improve the code, and to(therefore) avoid the exploits. As the mechanisms of the gameplay are public, their discovery will not be the main engine of the game. Knowing this, we are considering how otherwise the discovery of the gameplay will work in the game. The problem is different from that of a development studio which bases part of the gameplay on the secret(and the progressive discovery of the mechanisms) of it by the players. Yes, by analyzing the code.. you will be able to know, for ex: where the raw materials are located and under what conditions to optimally collect them. But that does not mean that it will be as “easy as stake” to find out the conditions(in question) or even to join the place pointed.

Aside code being free or not, there will always be “profiteers”! One side usually wants to have a good management of the community and code, and with that “No license”.. however, the other side may “lock it”, in other words contain it(legally speaking), to(for example) preventing a “wicked man” from doing harm.

Welcome “librarian” friend! Yes, yes, it is a complicated subject. Yes, we have licenses that require redistribution under the same conditions, but it's not BSD-like. Yes, we even envisage in some cases to allow people to put their works under copyright, even if we hope to show them that “to be free is better”, and that by the internet space of Khaganat, one imposes the CC- BY-SA.

The “SA” (ShareAlike, or identical sharing) is a copyleft and one can reasonably think that it restricts the freedom to rebroadcast as one wants … But it also allows to diffuse a reflection on the free, limiting the privatization of the works during the modifications, enabling us to re-enrich our own work with the modifications of others.

These various choices have been lengthy and have undergone several challenges. We have arrived at what seems like a good compromise, WITCH IS: to offer the free community a field of experience with a MMORPG and a universe with a real consistency, this while trying to get people(who do not know about the freedom of choice) to think about it, and thereby leaving them some familiar “protections”. Our reflections are explained in detail on the blog post about change of license. ←- Does not exist!!

Many people like to “get away” into an imaginary world(with it's own language and an alphabet) that are out of the ordinary. Why reinvent an imaginary language when there are already hundreds that work well? And in all these ​​constructed languages.. Lojban stands out clearly. As among other qualities, it can be analyzed by a computer, which can be really interesting in an computer project(although we are still far from being able to exploit this aspect).

However, there is no need to learn Lojban to participate in the project. It's just another of many game pieces.

No!! of course not

The Lojban is designed as a game opportunity, ingame.

We can play on Khanat without speaking a word of Lojban, just as we can play without ever having to fight, or to do crafts, or even having to go to the Salargug. To know the Lojban, and to decipher the D-script, you will undoubtedly enjoy some jokes on the way while discovering secrets, but even without knowing this, there will be plenty of fun.

And if you arrive one day in front of a closed door, covered with strange acronyms, it will be time to find the person who will be able to decipher them and explain that it is necessary to say the word “pendo” (“Friend” in Lojban), or even crying it out loud to pass. Khaganat relies more on cooperation and exchange of skills than on the need to control everything yourself.

Also, on the XMPP channels… You may find us playing with the Lojban language, but if it annoys you, just tell us!! We can go elsewhere. But it rarely lasts very long anyways.

There are many interesting projects already in English. On the other hand(in French), there is not much in the category of a “free world” + “MMORPG”.

Above all, we want to have fun and make ourselves happy, and it is easier to do it in our own mother tongue. We try to translate part of what we create for our Anglophone partners, but this is not our priority. At language level, our priority is for talented Francophones(except in languages) to express themselves. We can tho say that translation will be available!

Our license allows everyone to translate and develop our work into other languages, and we would be delighted to see the project internationalized, but we do not wish to deny our original language, and so should no one.

We use the Ryzom Core engine, and yes.. it is true that it's old, and at first glance, it looks a little old. And yes, it's a monstrous code(with a lot of bugs) and little original documentation left but we are reconstructing them as we go.

But the “Ryzom Core” about those few flaws. The fact is that the graphics engine wasis extremely well designed and could easily be updated with minimal amount of work, compared to the work of replacing it(even by another free project). The game engine and network management fits very well together. The game engine is undoubtedly one of the least documented parts, with many unfinished features, but it is also a system of rare flexibility thus allowing for a lot of different flexible things, and with many needed “cases” already planned. The studio that created Ryzom was able to pay professionals for several years, and this can be seen in the work that they left. No current free engine implements so many features specific to an MMORPG. There are ofcourse excellent game engines that are free, but they are suitable for solo games, or online games with only few playable people. A MMORPG has specific constraints, studying the code of Ryzom Core is a wonderful lesson of gamedesign… and it would NOT serve much to “reinvent the wheel” unless you have a few million euros to provide?? We were paying an army of people to code something like that for 3 years, and forcing them to document this time!

And lastly, the network part is a “MASTERPIECE”!! Today, it would probably require a high-level security person to conduct an “audit” because of it being developed a long time ago, but outside of that(and it is not even certain that the security system is extremely resilient), it allows a large number of players to connect at the same time and to putt equal access to the network on an equal footing. Whether you are connecting from a 3G key to the Amazon, via satellite in Polynesia, behind an old modem in a French countryside or with fiber in the suburbs of Lyon, you WILL have a correct access to the game, and that without eating all your band width… and the ping will even not change a lot(of things at stake). For us, this access for all is an important element!! the digital divide does indeed exist, both in France and in the world, and we do not make a game only for the ones of Auvergne. ←- Does not exist!!

In Ryzom Core, the game engine, physical engine, and network part are very intertwined. Separating them would require a lot of work at code level.

No!

Well.. in fact(though not as some hope). The “Frog syndrome” will not be encouraged on Khanat. We will set up a jump animation, because it is sometimes fun, but it will have a cooldown, because it should not be abused.

This “jump” feature will probably not allow you to cross many obstacles(unless some coders look at it and manage to evolve the game engine). It is ofcourse doable, but it is quite complex and will take alot of work. It is easier to bypass the problem by allowing a conditional jump under certain circumstances. By for ex: Barriers with a “go over” option, pontoons with the “enter/exit in water” option.

Khanat will never be a platform game. The game engine is really not suitable for that. If you want to make a multiplayer platform game, you may wanna turn to other projects.

And then(really?) we do not want to see “flops of players” jumping everywhere, in a game that is an “role-playing kind”.

Probably not.

A modern physicist(who manipulates gravity) makes it possible to launch an object and see it accomplish a parabola, where friction forces are taken into account, etc.) wich can be nice, but.. there will be a lot of other ways to have fun in the game. If you want to play with an ball(physics wise) with your foot in the Khagnat universe, then it is better to rely on another engine. Bot to allow links between the two game systems(allow to use the skin of it's avatar for example). That's something doable!

A physical engine in a multiplayer game means that the server has to calculate many more different things, and then send that information over the network, which(in turn) takes up bandwidth. This is done to the detriment of other things, usually the maximum number of players on a “shard”. Above all, we want to allow a game where 300 players can find themselves in the same zone without “thrilling the server” and this is currently possible.

We recognize that everyone has the right to use the tool they prefer, including to propose things to Khaganat. But we are liberals(bad explanation tho), and we are therefore promoting the use of free tools. We always try to offer free licensed solutions, and our tutorials are(generally) free tools. Because anyone can get them even without money, and without being outlawed, because (<del> Hacking </ del> cracker software is bad!).

We also ask that sources be provided in open formats, in order to avoid scheduled obsolescence and allow for better interoperability. Thus, everyone remains free to use the software he/she prefers!

And then(two cited examples)… test “Blender” and “Krita”. Really!! For less, you have better.

Simply, it's so much better!!

Dokuwiki does not use a database. And it is also simple to install, configure and maintain. The Dokuwiki can simply do a lot of things.

Ok, our REAL reason is that the administrator of the websites adoooooore this software. There are some good arguments about this from Zatalyz, but there is also a good deal of emotion. Do not “poke” in this, it will get you nowhere!!

We explored this possibility at the early stages of Khaganat.

A complete CMS(Spip, Tikiwiki, TYPO3, Joomla, etc.) does everything in a unified way. For ex: forums, wikis, etc. But(often) it does this “in it's own way”. This is less flexible than choosing a specific CMS for each type of use(a wiki CMS for wiki, a forum CMS for forums, etc.). Our specific needs could not easily be filled by the free CMS available. Because it would then be in need of development, and we never owned the skills for that.

In addition, a large CMS is often more complicated to install and maintain. It asks for high competence, and always being available. Our project takes into account the freedom of each person to come and go, so we want to use a system that someone with little computer skills could (re)install and maintain.

Because we forget things. We prefer to spend our time creating our MMORPG rather than going on social networks.

OK, it's not a “good” reason and, yes.. better managing our external communication could bring us more contributors, but this is just how things are at the moment. On the other hand, if you are motivated by a social network, you can give yourself “the means” to feed them!

We are present on the big networks “because of goodness, it is necessary”. And because we know that some will start looking for us on Facebook or Youtube(before all), but these networks do not interest us. We do not wish to feed the GAFAMs. If you want to follow us, we communicate on a free social network(Diaspora, follow the tag #khaganat) and especially the “blog” where you can subscribe to an RSS feed: That should be enough!!

We do not go there because of:

• If the comments are nice, we will not be able to see them, and therefore not be able to answer them, it's a shame, yes.
• If the comments are bad, we will not be able to answer them or trollers, it's sad.
• If we are asked a question, we can not answer, wich is stupid.
• If we are offered with an viagra ad, we can not moderate the comment, it's simply bad.

Just close the comments! If you want to tell us something, come on in to the forum or on XMPP, there we can have a real exchange!

Because we can not be everywhere and we do not know everything. As for having an account(without feeding it at all), our interest is minor. After that, there is of course the question of “protecting” our identity by reserving these accounts.

If you are interested, you are welcome to help us manage this part of the communication from your favorite platform.

We are a young project(despite our few years of existence). What we are proposing is still very immature. Going straight to “players” would be a mistake from our point of view. They will be disappointed, especially as the video game industry plays too much on the effects of ads. We do not want to participate in this frustrating system.

In addition, our development depends on volunteers. We have no deadline, we can not say “when” it will be ready. It may vary from one day to the next, depending on who is helping us and who is leaving.

And then we do not seek(at least for the moment) an immense celebrity, which we in turn would have trouble to manage!

On Dailymotion and https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHlxqVQbL0wuxFPuOBC8a9gYYube. ←- Does not exist!!

Yes, there is not much. We are not video graphic makers, and there is a lot to do elsewhere… We do not necessarily know what to show, because the game is currently quite “light” when you connect to the server(and we still use their graphics resources a lot).

If it tempts you, throw yourself at it!! We will be delighted to add your videos to the official channels. And if you know a liberal web host of good quality, introduce us!