This is a call to action to release an open-source version of FusionFall Retro. 

Retro was a fan revival and continuation of FusionFall, the Cartoon Network MMORPG. 

When the original game shut down in 2013, many worried that this online-only game could become lost to time. Thankfully, this was not the case. The FusionFall Retro team accomplished the impossible, and began hosting their server in 2017, with the full game becoming playable in 2018. Retro players enjoyed seasonal events and custom content added to the game, including Missions, NPCs, Nanos, and updated map regions. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. In 2020 the Retro team shut down their server after being contacted by a legal representative of Cartoon Network. Concerns arose once again that FusionFall would be gone for good. 

Thanks to the OpenFusion team, fans of the game would not have to worry for long. They coded and released open-source server software that works with the original game. Anyone can download the OpenFusion launcher and self-host any of the original game’s builds, or connect to one of their two servers. Because of their hard work, the original FusionFall game files will be preserved for years to come. But where does that leave the unique content created for FusionFall Retro? Each unique NPC, Mission, or Item? Will their accomplishments be lost? 

Right now, if you want to play FusionFall:Retro, there is a server being hosted called Retrobution. Though they have some overlap with OpenFusion, in a notable departure, Retrobution’s server is not open-source. Essentially, the only way to play the Retro build is on their server, without a way to self-host the game like OpenFusion made possible for the others. Additionally, unlike the original game builds, which have mostly been archived, there are no publicly available archives of the distinct Retro builds. Much of their original content was released as seasonal events, such as Chowder’s Christmas gazebo in Pokey Oaks or the Blood Gnat invasion in Candy Cove. Copies of these game builds exist today on the hard drives of a select few, but have not been saved anywhere easily accessible. Because of this, Retro’s custom content is at a greater risk of becoming lost media. 

The demand for a release of the Retro server hasn’t gone completely unnoticed. OpenDaisy was a custom fork of OpenFusion specifically for Retro. Their launcher can still be downloaded from its original Google Drive link, but has since become completely defunct. 

We are grateful that the Retrobution server exists in the first place, offering at least one way for players to access the FusionFall Retro experience. We don’t discount the amount of work that went into developing their private server software. As enthusiasts ourselves, we set out to create a modified Retro server and had great difficulty tracking down the game files and tools to do so. The software our server runs on is old with unsolved bugs, but we lacked the skills of the OpenFusion and Retrobution team to create a custom, fine-tuned software fork.

In the interest of improving the accessibility to these resources, and future-proofing this community, we feel it necessary to petition them to release an open-source Retro server.

Specifically, there is need for:

• A public archive of Retro builds so people can find them when they need them.
• Open-Source server software that's compatible with Retro so the community can host their own Retro servers offline and in singleplayer.

This would ensure that the feats accomplished by the FusionFall Retro team will not be lost to time, and make it possible for players to self-host the game as is possible with OpenFusion. There are a number of benefits to self-hosting, such as a lack of reliance on an internet connection, or access to admin commands. Ultimately, the future of FusionFall fan projects as a whole depends on the ability to ‘pass the torch’. 

OpenFusion set out to make FusionFall open-source. What they have accomplished for the original game builds is impressive in its own right. But their mission is incomplete. Without an open-source Retro build, a crucial piece of the puzzle is missing. 

Looking forward, will the Retro game files become lost media? For the betterment of this fan community, FusionFall Retro deserves to be experienced by as many people as possible, and the best way to achieve that is to make it open-source. We call upon the Retrobution and OpenFusion staff to see to this goal. Development in the FusionFall community has come a long way in the past few years, and we wouldn’t be at this point without contributions from talented, hard-working people. But without an accessible archive of the Retro game builds, or the server software required to host them, future hobbyists may not have a way to play what is arguably the best version of the game. Should they decide to open-source their server software and publish the lost game builds, it would offer the freedom of playing Retro in single-player, and safeguard its preservation for years to come.

Sign this petition to urge them to MAKE FUSIONFALL RETRO OPEN-SOURCE!