Let's kick this off with a simple question:
Do you have any sort of license to allow you to use the Cataclysm codebase. Yes, or no?
Except, of course, that we (unlike you) actually went through the process of talking to Whales and getting a proper license agreement. I rather doubt you actually talked to him, but maybe I'm wrong. Did you? Also, where is the public repository of your code so people can see it?
Cataclysm is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
https://github.com/Whales/Cataclysm/blob/master/LICENSE No one need request permission to use it. They must simply adhere to the rules of that license.
Now legally speaking I'm not sure if this license even requires the source code to be made public, or does it?
There is actually no mention of source code other than in the FAQ where it states:
"This license is often compared to “copyleft” free and open source software licenses."
Yep here's the clarification:
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Can_I_apply_a_Creative_Commons_license_to_software.3FCan I apply a Creative Commons license to software?
We do not recommend it. Creative Commons licenses should not be used for software. We strongly encourage you to use one of the very good software licenses which are already available. We recommend considering licenses made available by the Free Software Foundation or listed at the Open Source Initiative. Unlike our licenses, which do not make mention of source or object code, these existing licenses were designed specifically for use with software. Furthermore, our licenses are not compatible with the GPL, the most frequently used free software license.
In my experience this license is generally only used for art/media assets within a game. The code itself would usually be licensed under GPL.
But with that said, any chance you could show your source code Driverboy?
Cheers.
Edit/
I'm not using the code for personal profit or anything else,
This license does not stop you doing that. It explicitly states that you can sell your own modifications, but they must be released under the same license. Not that it would be the right thing to do mind you ;-)
