diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 9c4b7e4ff5..afd85117fe 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ If it doesn't, consider reporting the issue/asking for help in #sfttech on freen
 project(openage C CXX)
 
 set(BUILDSYSTEM_DIR "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/buildsystem")
-set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/modules/)
+set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/modules/")
 
 # include build configuration modules
 include("CTest")
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ include("${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/doxygen.cmake")
 disallow_in_source_builds()
 
 # create python config file
-configure_file(py/openage/config.py.in ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/py/openage/config.py)
+configure_file(py/openage/config.py.in "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/py/openage/config.py")
 
 # create documentation for cpp and py folders
 doxygen_configure(cpp/ py/)
diff --git a/buildsystem/assets.cmake b/buildsystem/assets.cmake
index 82461fefce..87d84f7133 100644
--- a/buildsystem/assets.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/assets.cmake
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 # Copyright 2014-2014 the openage authors. See copying.md for legal info.
 
 function(init_assets)
-	set(GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/assets)
-	set(INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/openage)
+	set(GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/assets")
+	set(INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/openage")
 
-	install(DIRECTORY ${GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR}/
-		DESTINATION ${INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR}
+	install(DIRECTORY "${GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR}/"
+		DESTINATION "${INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR}"
 		PATTERN .gitignore EXCLUDE)
 
-	set(GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR ${GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR} PARENT_SCOPE)
-	set(INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR ${INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR "${GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR "${INSTALLED_GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
 init_assets()
diff --git a/buildsystem/codegen.cmake b/buildsystem/codegen.cmake
index 17a2b918ce..37c2520db4 100644
--- a/buildsystem/codegen.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/codegen.cmake
@@ -10,11 +10,11 @@ function(codegen_run)
 	endif()
 	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_CODEGEN_HAS_BEEN_RUN 1)
 
-	set(CODEGEN_INVOCATION ${PYTHON_INVOCATION} -m openage.codegen --target-cache=${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/codegen_target_cache --depend-cache=${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/codegen_depend_cache --cpp-src-dir=${CPP_SOURCE_DIR})
+	set(CODEGEN_INVOCATION ${PYTHON_INVOCATION} -m openage.codegen "--target-cache=${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/codegen_target_cache" "--depend-cache=${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/codegen_depend_cache" "--cpp-src-dir=${CPP_SOURCE_DIR}")
 
 	execute_process(COMMAND
 		${CODEGEN_INVOCATION}
-		WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+		WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}"
 		RESULT_VARIABLE COMMAND_RESULT
 	)
 
@@ -25,32 +25,32 @@ function(codegen_run)
 
 	FILE(READ "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/codegen_target_cache" CODEGEN_TARGET_FILES)
 	FILE(READ "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/codegen_depend_cache" CODEGEN_DEPENDS)
-	STRING(REGEX REPLACE "\n" ";" CODEGEN_TARGET_FILES "${CODEGEN_TARGET_FILES}")
-	STRING(REGEX REPLACE "\n" ";" CODEGEN_DEPENDS "${CODEGEN_DEPENDS}")
+	STRING(REGEX REPLACE "\n" ";" CODEGEN_TARGET_FILES ${CODEGEN_TARGET_FILES})
+	STRING(REGEX REPLACE "\n" ";" CODEGEN_DEPENDS ${CODEGEN_DEPENDS})
 	set(CODEGEN_TIMEFILE "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/codegen_timefile")
 
 	add_custom_command(
-		OUTPUT ${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE}
-		COMMAND ${CODEGEN_INVOCATION} --write-to-sourcedir --touch-file-on-cache-change=${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_FILE} --force-rerun-on-targetcache-change
-		COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E touch ${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE}
-		WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+		OUTPUT "${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE}"
+		COMMAND ${CODEGEN_INVOCATION} --write-to-sourcedir "--touch-file-on-cache-change=${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_FILE}" --force-rerun-on-targetcache-change
+		COMMAND "${CMAKE_COMMAND}" -E touch "${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE}"
+		WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}"
 		DEPENDS ${CODEGEN_DEPENDS}
 		COMMENT "generating c++ code (via py/openage/codegen)"
 	)
 
-	add_custom_target(codegen DEPENDS ${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE})
+	add_custom_target(codegen DEPENDS "${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE}")
 
 	add_custom_target(cleancodegen
 		COMMAND ${CODEGEN_INVOCATION} --clean
-		COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove ${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE}
+		COMMAND "${CMAKE_COMMAND}" -E remove "${CODEGEN_TIMEFILE}"
 	)
 
 	set(CODEGEN_TARGET_TUS)
 	foreach(target ${CODEGEN_TARGET_FILES})
-		if(${target} MATCHES \\.cpp$)
-			list(APPEND CODEGEN_TARGET_TUS ${target})
+		if("${target}" MATCHES "\\.cpp$")
+			list(APPEND CODEGEN_TARGET_TUS "${target}")
 		endif()
 	endforeach()
 
-	set(CODEGEN_TARGET_TUS ${CODEGEN_TARGET_TUS} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(CODEGEN_TARGET_TUS "${CODEGEN_TARGET_TUS}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
diff --git a/buildsystem/cpp.cmake b/buildsystem/cpp.cmake
index 92c291684b..57a57bc8ab 100644
--- a/buildsystem/cpp.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/cpp.cmake
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ endfunction()
 # you need to use add_sources to add source files to it, and finalize_executable to finalize it.
 # then you can add libraries, include dirs, etc.
 function(declare_executable binary_name)
-	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_BINARIES ${binary_name})
+	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_BINARIES "${binary_name}")
 endfunction()
 
 # add source files to a binary
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ function(add_sources binary_name)
 	set(generated FALSE)
 
 	get_property(binary_list GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_BINARIES)
-	list_contains(contained ${binary_name} ${binary_list})
+	list_contains(contained "${binary_name}" "${binary_list}")
 	if(NOT contained)
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "attempting to add source to unknown binary ${binary_name}")
 	endif()
@@ -52,21 +52,21 @@ function(add_sources binary_name)
 		if(source STREQUAL GENERATED)
 			set(generated TRUE)
 		else()
-			if(NOT IS_ABSOLUTE ${source})
-				set(source ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${source})
+			if(NOT IS_ABSOLUTE "${source}")
+				set(source "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${source}")
 			endif()
 
 			set_property(
 				GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY
-				SFT_BINARY_SRCS_${binary_name}
-				${source}
+				"SFT_BINARY_SRCS_${binary_name}"
+				"${source}"
 			)
 
 			if(${generated})
 				set_property(
 					GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY
-					SFT_BINARY_GENERATED_SRCS_${binary_name}
-					${source}
+					"SFT_BINARY_GENERATED_SRCS_${binary_name}"
+					"${source}"
 				)
 			endif()
 		endif()
@@ -87,20 +87,20 @@ function(finalize_executable binary_name)
 	# print overview of the executable's files
 	message("C++ executable: ${binary_name}")
 	foreach(source ${sources})
-		list_contains(contained ${source} ${generatedsources})
+		list_contains(contained "${source}" "${generatedsources}")
 		if(contained)
-			print_filename(${source} "[gen]")
+			print_filename("${source}" "[gen]")
 		else()
-			print_filename(${source})
+			print_filename("${source}")
 		endif()
 	endforeach()
 
 	# create the executable
-	add_executable(${binary_name} ${sources})
+	add_executable("${binary_name}" ${sources})
 
 	# make the binary depend on codegen iff it has any generated files
 	if(generatedsources)
-		add_dependencies(${binary_name} codegen)
+		add_dependencies("${binary_name}" codegen)
 	endif()
 	message("")
 endfunction()
diff --git a/buildsystem/doxygen.cmake b/buildsystem/doxygen.cmake
index 7ef914ef61..23cbcd09aa 100644
--- a/buildsystem/doxygen.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/doxygen.cmake
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 function(doxygen_init)
 	find_package(Doxygen)
 	if(DOXYGEN_FOUND)
-		find_file(DOT dot HINTS /usr/bin/dot)
+		find_file(DOT dot HINTS "/usr/bin/dot")
 
 		if(NOT ${DOT} STREQUAL "DOT-NOTFOUND")
 			set(DOT_EXECUTABLE "${DOT}" PARENT_SCOPE)
@@ -18,16 +18,16 @@ function(doxygen_init)
 		endif()
 	endif()
 
-	set(DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE ${DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE} PARENT_SCOPE)
-	set(DOXYGEN_FOUND ${DOXYGEN_FOUND} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE "${DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE}" PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(DOXYGEN_FOUND "${DOXYGEN_FOUND}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
 function(doxygen_configure)
 	if(DOXYGEN_FOUND)
 		# add doc target
 		add_custom_target(doc
-			${DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE} ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/Doxyfile
-			WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
+			"${DOXYGEN_EXECUTABLE}" "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/Doxyfile"
+			WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}"
 			COMMENT "generating docs (via Doxygen)"
 			VERBATIM
 		)
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ function(doxygen_configure)
 		endforeach()
 
 		# adapt doxygen config
-		configure_file(${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/templates/Doxyfile.in ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/Doxyfile @ONLY)
+		configure_file("${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/templates/Doxyfile.in" "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/Doxyfile" @ONLY)
 	else()
 		message(WARNING "doxygen couldn't be found, you won't be able to generate docs")
 	endif()
diff --git a/buildsystem/python.cmake b/buildsystem/python.cmake
index 454ab0320d..183e7346c4 100644
--- a/buildsystem/python.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/python.cmake
@@ -18,33 +18,32 @@ function(python_init)
 	# all of those lists will be used to generate setup.py in the generator function
 
 	set(PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/py")
-	set(PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR ${PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR "${PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 
-	set(PYTHON3 ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE})
-	set(PYTHON3 ${PYTHON3} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(PYTHON3 "${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE}")
+	set(PYTHON3 "${PYTHON3}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 	set(PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR "${PYTHON_INCLUDE_DIR}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 	set(PYTHON_LIBRARY "${PYTHON_LIBRARY}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 	set(PYTHON_VERSION_STRING "${PYTHON_VERSION_STRING}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 
-	set(PYTHON_INVOCATION ${PYTHON3} ${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/runinenv "PYTHONPATH:prependpath:${PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR}" -- ${PYTHON3})
-	set(PYTHON_INVOCATION ${PYTHON_INVOCATION} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(PYTHON_INVOCATION "${PYTHON3}" "${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/runinenv" "PYTHONPATH:prependpath:${PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR}" -- "${PYTHON3}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
 
 function(get_py_module_name var path)
-	if(NOT IS_ABSOLUTE ${path})
-		set(path ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${path})
+	if(NOT IS_ABSOLUTE "${path}")
+		set(path "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${path}")
 	endif()
 
-	file(RELATIVE_PATH relpath ${PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR} ${path})
+	file(RELATIVE_PATH relpath "${PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR}" "${path}")
 
-	string(REPLACE "/" "." name ${relpath})
-	set(${var} ${name} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	string(REPLACE "/" "." name "${relpath}")
+	set(${var} "${name}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
 
 function(get_py_module_path var name)
-	string(REPLACE "." "/" relpath ${name})
+	string(REPLACE "." "/" relpath "${name}")
 	set(${var} "${PYTHON_SOURCE_DIR}/${relpath}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
@@ -58,17 +57,17 @@ function(add_py_package name)
 		message("py package: ${name}")
 	endif()
 
-	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_PY_PACKAGES ${name})
+	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_PY_PACKAGES "${name}")
 
 	# find all sourcefiles for this package
 	# this list of sourcefiles is not used directly for building,
 	# just for determining whether a re-build is neccesary.
-	get_py_module_path(package_path ${name})
+	get_py_module_path(package_path "${name}")
 	file(GLOB package_sources "${package_path}/*.py")
-	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${name})
+	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${name}")
 	foreach(sourcefile ${package_sources})
-		print_filename(${sourcefile})
-		set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${name} "${sourcefile}")
+		print_filename("${sourcefile}")
+		set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY "SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${name}" "${sourcefile}")
 	endforeach()
 	message("")
 endfunction()
@@ -76,21 +75,21 @@ endfunction()
 
 function(add_pyext_module name)
 	# check whether the module has already been defined
-	get_property(module GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${name})
+	get_property(module GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${name}")
 	if(${module})
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "py cpp extension module ${name} has already been defined!")
 	else()
 		message("py cpp extension module: ${name}")
 	endif()
 
-	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_PY_EXT_MODULES ${name})
+	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_PY_EXT_MODULES "${name}")
 
 	# process the user-supplied list of cpp source files
-	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${name})
+	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${name}")
 	foreach(sourcefile ${ARGN})
 		set(sourcefile "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${sourcefile}")
-		print_filename(${sourcefile})
-		set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${name} "${sourcefile}")
+		print_filename("${sourcefile}")
+		set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY "SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${name}" "${sourcefile}")
 	endforeach()
 	message("")
 endfunction()
@@ -104,7 +103,7 @@ function(python_modules_in_prefix prefix varname)
 	foreach(package ${packages})
 		string(FIND "${package}" "${prefix}" match)
 		if(${match} EQUAL 0)
-			get_property(sourcefiles GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${package})
+			get_property(sourcefiles GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${package}")
 			foreach(sourcefile ${sourcefiles})
 				list(APPEND modules "${sourcefile}")
 			endforeach()
@@ -122,7 +121,7 @@ function(process_python_modules)
 	get_property(packages GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_PACKAGES)
 	foreach(package ${packages})
 		set(pkg_src "${pkg_src}    '${package}': [")
-		get_property(sourcefiles GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${package})
+		get_property(sourcefiles GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_PY_PACKAGE_${package}")
 		foreach(sourcefile ${sourcefiles})
 			set(pkg_src "${pkg_src}'${sourcefile}', ")
 			list(APPEND all_sourcefiles "${sourcefile}")
@@ -134,7 +133,7 @@ function(process_python_modules)
 	get_property(modules GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_EXT_MODULES)
 	foreach(module ${modules})
 		set(ext_src "${ext_src}    '${module}': [")
-		get_property(sourcefiles GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${module})
+		get_property(sourcefiles GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_PY_EXT_MODULE_${module}")
 		foreach(sourcefile ${sourcefiles})
 			set(ext_src "${ext_src}'${sourcefile}', ")
 			list(APPEND all_sourcefiles "${sourcefile}")
@@ -146,7 +145,7 @@ function(process_python_modules)
 	set(SETUP_PY    "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/py/setup.py")
 	set(PY_TIMEFILE "${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/py/timefile")
 
-	set(SETUP_INVOCATION ${PYTHON3} ${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/runinenv CXX=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER} CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER} -- ${PYTHON3} ${SETUP_PY})
+	set(SETUP_INVOCATION "${PYTHON3}" "${BUILDSYSTEM_DIR}/runinenv" "CXX=${CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER}" "CC=${CMAKE_C_COMPILER}" -- "${PYTHON3}" "${SETUP_PY}")
 
 	# create setup.py file for python module creation
 	#
@@ -154,19 +153,20 @@ function(process_python_modules)
 	# * all python-C extensions are built in-place
 	#   so they can be used for imports in the development tree
 	# * the pure python modules are compiled to pyc
-	configure_file(${SETUP_PY_IN} ${SETUP_PY})
-	add_custom_command(OUTPUT ${PY_TIMEFILE}
-			COMMAND ${SETUP_INVOCATION} build_ext --inplace
-			COMMAND ${SETUP_INVOCATION} build
-			COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E touch ${PY_TIMEFILE}
-			DEPENDS ${all_sourcefiles}
-			COMMENT "building python modules (via setup.py)")
+	configure_file("${SETUP_PY_IN}" "${SETUP_PY}")
+	add_custom_command(OUTPUT "${PY_TIMEFILE}"
+		COMMAND ${SETUP_INVOCATION} build_ext --inplace
+		COMMAND ${SETUP_INVOCATION} build
+		COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E touch "${PY_TIMEFILE}"
+		DEPENDS ${all_sourcefiles}
+		COMMENT "building python modules (via setup.py)"
+	)
 
-	add_custom_target(pymodules ALL DEPENDS ${PY_TIMEFILE})
+	add_custom_target(pymodules ALL DEPENDS "${PY_TIMEFILE}")
 
 	add_custom_target(cleanpymodules
 		COMMAND ${SETUP_INVOCATION} clean --all
-		COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove ${PY_TIMEFILE}
+		COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove "${PY_TIMEFILE}"
 	)
 
 	# create call to setup.py when installing
diff --git a/buildsystem/testing.cmake b/buildsystem/testing.cmake
index 2f4303eab9..7791a06ee7 100644
--- a/buildsystem/testing.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/testing.cmake
@@ -21,60 +21,60 @@ function(sft_add_test lang type name desc)
 	endif()
 
 	# check whether tests for ${lang} have been finalized already
-	get_property(finalized GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang}_FINALIZED)
+	get_property(finalized GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}_FINALIZED")
 	if(finalized)
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "Test specifications for ${lang} have been finalized!")
 	endif()
 
 	# check whether that test has been specified already
-	get_property(tests GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang})
-	list_contains(contained ${name} tests)
+	get_property(tests GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}")
+	list_contains(contained "${name}" tests)
 	if(contained)
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "The ${lang} test ${name} has already been defined!")
 	endif()
 
 	# append test to list
-	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang} ${name})
-	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang}_TYPE_${name} ${type})
-	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang}_DESCRIPTION_${name} ${description})
+	set_property(GLOBAL APPEND PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}" "${name}")
+	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}_TYPE_${name}" "${type}")
+	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}_DESCRIPTION_${name}" "${description}")
 
 	# add test to CTest
 	if(type STREQUAL test AND lang STREQUAL cpp)
-		add_test(NAME ${name} COMMAND ${PROJECT_NAME} --test ${name})
+		add_test(NAME "${name}" COMMAND "${PROJECT_NAME}" --test "${name}")
 	elseif(type STREQUAL test AND lang STREQUAL py)
-		add_test(NAME ${name} COMMAND ${PYTHON_INVOCATION} -m openage.testing --test ${name})
+		add_test(NAME "${name}" COMMAND ${PYTHON_INVOCATION} -m openage.testing --test "${name}")
 	endif()
 endfunction()
 
 # usability wrappers
 function(add_test_cpp name description)
-	sft_add_test(cpp test ${name} ${description})
+	sft_add_test(cpp test "${name}" "${description}")
 endfunction()
 
 function(add_demo_cpp name description)
-	sft_add_test(cpp demo ${name} ${description})
+	sft_add_test(cpp demo "${name}" "${description}")
 endfunction()
 
 function(add_test_py name description)
-	sft_add_test(py test ${name} ${description})
+	sft_add_test(py test "${name}" "${description}")
 endfunction()
 
 function(add_demo_py name description)
-	sft_add_test(py demo ${name} ${description})
+	sft_add_test(py demo "${name}" "${description}")
 endfunction()
 
 function(finalize_tests lang)
-	get_property(test_names GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang})
-	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang}_FINALIZED 1)
+	get_property(test_names GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}")
+	set_property(GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}_FINALIZED" 1)
 
 	set(testsfile "${GLOBAL_ASSET_DIR}/tests_${lang}")
-	file(WRITE ${testsfile} "")
+	file(WRITE "${testsfile}" "")
 
 	message("${lang} tests")
 
 	foreach(test ${test_names})
-		get_property(type GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang}_TYPE_${test})
-		get_property(description GLOBAL PROPERTY SFT_TESTS_${lang}_DESCRIPTION_${test})
+		get_property(type GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}_TYPE_${test}")
+		get_property(description GLOBAL PROPERTY "SFT_TESTS_${lang}_DESCRIPTION_${test}")
 
 		if(type STREQUAL demo)
 			set(demostr "[demo]")
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ function(finalize_tests lang)
 
 		message("${demostr}\t${test}: ${description}")
 
-		file(APPEND ${testsfile} "${test} ${type} ${description}\n")
+		file(APPEND "${testsfile}" "${test} ${type} ${description}\n")
 	endforeach()
 
 	message("")
diff --git a/buildsystem/util.cmake b/buildsystem/util.cmake
index a3a283c9c9..2edc47d5a1 100644
--- a/buildsystem/util.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/util.cmake
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
 set(AUTOGEN_WARNING "warning: this file was auto-generated by cmake. take a look at the template file instead.")
 
 function(print_filename filename)
-	file(RELATIVE_PATH relfilename ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR} ${filename})
+	file(RELATIVE_PATH relfilename "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}" "${filename}")
 	message("${ARGN}\t${relfilename}")
 endfunction()
 
 function(list_contains var value)
-	set(${var} FALSE)
+	set(${var} FALSE PARENT_SCOPE)
 	foreach(value2 ${ARGN})
 		if(${value} STREQUAL ${value2})
 			set(${var} TRUE PARENT_SCOPE)
diff --git a/buildsystem/version.cmake b/buildsystem/version.cmake
index bf4bf9bb64..f6a121d55f 100644
--- a/buildsystem/version.cmake
+++ b/buildsystem/version.cmake
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 function(init_version)
 	set(res 1)
-	if(IS_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/.git)
+	if(IS_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/.git")
 		# if .git exists, try running git describe
 		execute_process(COMMAND git describe WORKING_DIRECTORY "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}" RESULT_VARIABLE res OUTPUT_VARIABLE version ERROR_QUIET OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE)
 	endif()
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ function(init_version)
 		message(FATAL_ERROR "failed to determine project version")
 	endif()
 
-	set(PROJECT_VERSION ${version} PARENT_SCOPE)
+	set(PROJECT_VERSION "${version}" PARENT_SCOPE)
 endfunction()
 
 init_version()