At some point we are going to need an alternative graphics set like OpenTTD so people don't need the original game anymore.
I just exported all the sprites from the game and did a file count:
10,902.
And that's not counting the terrain siege equipment as they are not loaded yet, so it's probably about 11,500. I agree that it would be nice to be able to "own" the images but it would be a mammoth task and I think we would still be on shaky legal ground if our gameplay and layout was exactly the same just with different images/sounds/fonts.
Anyway, this isn't really the intention of this project. We are TRYING to clone KaM because we like the current images and sprites and music. I can't imagine KaM without it. OpenTDD, I doubt they have 10,902 images and I don't think changing them would have such an impact on the game.
I think that anyone who is too tight to pay a mere $6 to GOG.com for instant download of KaM TPR with unlimited installs doesn't deserve to play our game. That's like the cost of two coffees at a cafe. (at least it is here, but our economy is doing well
) Anyway, publishers/authors of the game deserve money for it because we are still enjoying their idea and their copyright sprites/music/sounds.
We've made it very easy for people, there's a big link to the GOG.com page for KaM on our downloads page. I mean, if we were selling this remake for $6 you'd buy it, (but of course we have no right to do this) so why not buy KaM TPR instead?