README

README for Fabula
=================

About
-----

Fabula is an Open Source Python Game Engine suitable for adventure, role-playing 
and strategy games and digital interactive storytelling.

Fabula can be used as a library to develop your own games. As an alternative, 
you can use the Pygame-based graphical editor and the default game engine that 
come with fabula.

Fabula is Free Software under the General Public License (GPL) as published by 
the Free Software Foundation.

You can find fabula on the web at http://fabula-engine.org/


Features
--------

- client-server architecture
- event-based protocol
- multiplayer and networking capabilites
- multi-threaded server
- abstract, visualisation-agnostic model of a game world
- asset manager
- plugin system
- recording and playback of gameplay
- well-documented code
- runs on Linux and MS Windows (it should work on OS X, too, but this has not 
  yet been tested).


Installation
------------

Fabula comes in several release formats. Which one is for you depends on how you 
want to use Fabula.


### I want to run a standard Fabula client or server, or use the visual editor.

Get the *binary release* for your platform, unzip the archive and simply run the 
appropriate *.exe file.


### I want code my own games using Fabula, customising server logic or the client.

You will need Python >= 3.1 from http://python.org/ and Pygame >= 1.9.1 from 
http://pygame.org/.

Then get the *source release*. Fabula uses the Python distutils module. To 
install, unzip the archive and run

    python setup.py install

on the command line.


Acknowledgements
----------------

Fabula development has been funded by the MFG Stiftung Baden-Württemberg from 
November 2010 to October 2011.

http://innovation.mfg.de/


History
-------

"Fabula" used to be called "Shard" before being released to the public in 2011.


Author & Copyright
------------------

Copyright 2010-2012 Florian Berger <fberger@florian-berger.de>