Donation Policy

    This page documents SuperTuxKart’s policy regarding donations and what we do with money received. These policies might change at any time depending on the requirements and the priorities of the project.

    However, you may rest assured that the team will not spend money on inconsequential things. All spending decisions are fully discussed among the members of the team ahead of time in order to avoid disagreements.

    콘텐츠

    Compensating developers and artists

    A common characteristic of libre and open-source projects that compete successfuly with proprietary alternatives - such as Blender, OBS, Krita, and Lichess - is the use of donations to make development sustainable.

    SuperTuxKart has achieved much through the passion of volunteers. However, to realize its full potential and offer the community the new content and features it desires, it needs to be more than a hobby.

    Some of our developers and artists are willing to dedicate significantly more time to the game, but have to balance this desire with the risk of burnout and the need of a livelihood. Financial support allows to reconcile those concerns. It could also allow the project to hire external specialists for highly specialized tasks.

    Donations therefore mean faster and more sustainable development. For context, modern commercial racing games usually employ dozens of artists and developers. The SuperTuxKart project aims to do more with less, but your donations are the key for an open-source game that competes with them.

    All decisions regarding compensation are decided on a case-by-case basis and discussed within the team to reach a consensus. Compensation depends on the project’s funds, the scope of the work, and the contributor’s long-term commitment to the project.

    Of course, SuperTuxKart continues to warmly welcome anyone willing to volunteer through art, code, etc. Tomorrow’s core contributors will grow from today’s volunteers.

    Online infrastructure

    Donations are used to cover the costs inherent to SuperTuxKart’s online infrastructure.

    This includes domain name fees, and server hosting costs for:

    • The main website - crucial for the game’s promotion and distribution
    • The addons website - responsible for addons distribution, online accounts, and online multiplayer
    • The official forum - a place to exchange with other players and ask questions
    • Official game servers - ranked races

    Likewise, donations may be used to cover fees required for the distribution of SuperTuxKart on some platforms, such as Android and iOS.

    Hardware and software

    The project may acquire specific hardware if it serves the game’s development, such as:

    • Better computer components (CPU, GPU, monitor…) to improve the workflow of a developer or an artist
    • Hardware with which we want to improve SuperTuxKart’s compatibility
    • Etc.

    The project may also pay licenses for professional software for which no suitable free alternative exists, particularly for assets creation.

    Marketing and promotion

    Donations may also be used to cover costs (travel, etc.) related to representing SuperTuxKart in events such as gaming conventions and open source conferences.