Developer(s) | The Spring Community |
---|---|
Stable release |
103.0 / July 19, 2016
|
Written in | C++, Lua |
Operating system | Linux, Microsoft Windows, Macintosh |
Platform | Cross-platform |
Type | Real-time strategy game engine |
License | GNU General Public License version 2 |
Website | springrts |
The Spring Engine (also termed SpringRTS and formerly TA Spring), is a game engine for real-time strategy (RTS) video games originally created by Stefan Johansson and Robin Westberg, members of the Swedish Yankspankers game clan. Originally intended to bring the gameplay experience of Total Annihilation into three dimensions, the engine has since evolved to support a plethora of more modern and more flexible features, including built-in high-level extensibility through a Lua scripting interface. The core game engine is free and open-source software, subject to the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2.
Since 2005 the Spring Engine is being developed by The Spring Community. The project has surpassed its initial goal to have the game run the mods and third-party units from Total Annihilation, and has evolved into a more general RTS engine. Most of the games running on the engine (as of December 2010) are focused on multiplayer gameplay. There are also currently a number of single player missions, built on frameworks utilizing the engine's Lua scripting abilities. There are also a large number of skirmish artificial intelligences (AIs), allowing for offline play or extra players in an online game.
Most Spring Engine-based games are designed to be played online, in multiplayer matches. The Spring Engine uses a deterministic game simulation which is executed simultaneously on all game clients. Only user commands are sent to other players, preventing any active cheating. Multiplayer is supported on both Linux and Windows. A pre-game lobby uses a specially designed protocol similar to that of Internet Relay Chat to facilitate chat, player match-making, and the adjustment of battle options. A number of spring lobby clients exist.