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Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

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Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#161

Post by antegamisou »

grishka wrote: post #107
Havoc wrote: post #2

I wish companies would just opensource really old engines for educational purposes. Maybe take game assets resize everything to 1/10th so that it looks like sht but can still be used as placeholder. Would boost the pipeline of talent for the entire industry

In general, open-source all abandonware. Here's a few examples of non-game old software that would benefit the society if open-sourced: Windows 9x and classic Mac OS. No one has sold these OSes for 20+ years and they turned out to be evolutionary dead ends. It would make sense to release their sources so people could learn from them and run them on new hardware more easily. Flash Player. Adobe has stated in no uncert…

> No one has sold these OSes for 20+ years and they turned out to be evolutionary dead ends. It would make sense to release their sources so people could learn from them and run them on new hardware more easily.

Would add SGI's IRIX too!

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#162

Post by someplaceguy »

maccard wrote: post #131
skrebbel wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can just “ERROR file physicslib.h not found”. Nobody says open source code must compile or work.

You need to remove all the calls to the SDK too.

Why is that?

Wouldn't the calling code be written (and thus copyrighted) by the company that wrote the game rather than the one that created the SDK?

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#163

Post by thsbrown »

als0 wrote: post #132
dumdumchan wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They peaked at far cry 2 and it has been down hill ever since

There's a lot to be admired by Far Cry 2: the environmental mechanics, the introduction, the lighting effects, the gritty and exotic atmosphere... but to me it was not a fun game. Not in the way that Far Cry 1 was fun.

I absolutely loved far cry 2. Dynamic fire and gun jamming were standouts.

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#164

Post by Vespasian »

flohofwoe wrote: post #149
concordDance wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What should really happen is a law that video games get declared public domain and have their source code released after 10 years. All assets and dependencies would get automatically released under a license allowing for their use in that game and derivatives of it. As it is, the source is mostly just lost to time, making humanity poorer.

There's a lot of games that have a shelf life of more than a decade. Maybe make that "10 years after the game is no longer sold".

That (maybe) would have worked in the olden days of physical disks or catridges. Today it is trivial to keep the game on steam with zero sales (or almost zero).

If lawmakers wanted to pass a law that actually made this happen they needed to stipulate a cut off date (and potential compensation) as well as rigid rules about what one can do with the released code.

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#165

Post by boppo1 »

Havoc wrote: post #2

I wish companies would just opensource really old engines for educational purposes. Maybe take game assets resize everything to 1/10th so that it looks like sht but can still be used as placeholder. Would boost the pipeline of talent for the entire industry

RIP UT2k4

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#166

Post by rebane2001 »

naillo wrote: post #150
ExoticPearTree wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn’t really matter at this point. It is out there and the Internet never forgets. What will come next, if it ever comes, it will be a game a whack-a-mole that the copyright owners have no chance of winning.

The internet can wipe things completely given enough want from corporations. For instance the hulk hogan tape seems utterly gone no matter where you look.

No it can't if you do your part

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#167

Post by TillE »

zirgs wrote: post #127
zokier wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends what your reference point for the rate of progress is. The release date of Crysis is closer to release date of Doom than today, but visually Crysis holds up dramatically better than what Doom did at the time of Crysis release.

16 year old games were considered "retro" when Crysis came out. Crysis came out 16 years ago.

Hell, if you were making a game that looked like Ultima VI (1990) in the mid-late 90s, that would be treated as embarrassingly retro. Call it 5 or 6 years.

Once we settled on quasi-realistic 3D games with a mostly consistent control scheme as the norm, that process of obsolescence has slowed down dramatically. Games have sort of plateaued in that way. So you really can go back and play Crysis and it's still fine. It's noticeably "retro", but I think only serious graphics nerds would be bothered by its deficiencies.

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#168

Post by plank »

maccard wrote: post #131
skrebbel wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It can just “ERROR file physicslib.h not found”. Nobody says open source code must compile or work.

You need to remove all the calls to the SDK too.

Surely that part of the code is AT LEAST fair use? Or one has to be at the wrong part of THAT historical argument (not necessarily pointing at parent)?

(Yes, I would argue that this is exempt following the ‘functional’ argument)

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#169

Post by iforgotpassword »

dahart wrote: post #158
grishka wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general, open-source all abandonware. Here's a few examples of non-game old software that would benefit the society if open-sourced: Windows 9x and classic Mac OS. No one has sold these OSes for 20+ years and they turned out to be evolutionary dead ends. It would make sense to release their sources so people could learn from them and run them on new hardware more easily. Flash Player. Adobe has stated in no uncert…

> Is there any good reason why the sources need to stay closed if they aren't going to make any further gains, financial or otherwise, from this product and its ecosystem? I can think of lots of reasons. From a competitive point of view, you might risk having a big enough resurgence that it eats into the business of your replacement. From a technical point of view, it may reveal parts of the sausage making, or expose…

I'd guess something big as Windows 9x contains A LOT of licensed third party code which would be a nightmare to get permission for. Try finding five dozen rights holders after thirty years...

Re: Far Cry 1.34 source code (2006)

#170

Post by mepian »

ttfkam wrote: post #141
geek_at wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

man I wish they had open sourced OS/2. It could have a linux sized community at this point. Sadly microsoft had put so much of their code in it, that they didn't allow the release (according to my dad who worked for IBM and was even called "Mr. OS/2" because he had sold it so good to companies)

OS/2 is still in use and under active development, just under a different name. https://hackaday.com/2023/02/16/arcaos-os-2-updated-for-the-...

I remember reading somewhere that while the developers of ArcaOS have the rights to continue the development of OS/2, they didn't obtain the source code. So they have to patch their changes into the old OS/2 binaries instead of changing the code.
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