EA will be releasing the C&C Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert source code under GPL3

Post by zozbot234 » Thu, May 21, 2020, 2:39 AM UTC

thrower123 wrote: post #54

ryandrake wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, I'd always wanted to make a Dungeon Keeper 2 clone. Please! I wonder why it's not more common to open source abandonware that has exactly zero remaining commercial value. These game companies don't even have to remain as maintainers/stewards of the code. It doesn't even have to compile. Just release it, and many people will get it to work! How much expense could it be to get an intern to upload the code to GitHu…

Depending on how old it is, the source code probably doesn't actually exist in a lot of cases. Game studios weren't exactly up to the latest standards of version control, by and large. Maybe there was a self-hosted CVS instance, or a dusty old version of Perforce, or a NAS that had the drives fail eons ago...

Post by ToFab123 » Thu, May 21, 2020, 2:48 AM UTC

pnako wrote: post #159

alexeldeib wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From GitHub: Electronic Arts: 27 repos Azure: 1.8k repos n.b., I work in Azure, make your own conclusions.

It's mostly templates, SDKs, etc. MS is open-sourcing the pieces of cheese that lead to their proprietary cloud-shaped trap. I don't think they've open-sourced anything related to Azure itself (i.e. if I wanted to run my own Azure-like cloud). I'm not saying it's a bad or even unethical strategy. I'm just saying that MS is not, remotely, an open-source company.

Post by thaumasiotes » Thu, May 21, 2020, 2:55 AM UTC

Ericson2314 wrote: post #113

NoInputSignal wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO, I think this counters a philosophical point of open source software. The open code to the software we use should not be a handout or a gift ex post facto. The open code to the software should be an invitation: to collaborate on it, audit it, or frankly do anything you want with it (e.g. WTFPL); before, during, and after using it.

That's like saying "landlords shouldn't be incentivized to hand over apartment over to residents after x years, because all housing should be publicly held" You're not wrong, but given the world we live in the incentive would be better. And I would say that's the sort of "non-reformist reform" that's liable to push towards the ideal, not appease and reinforce the status quo.

Post by cookiengineer » Thu, May 21, 2020, 3:09 AM UTC

bredren wrote: post #59

rnestler wrote: post #14

There is also the https://www.openra.net/ project which provides reimplementations of the classic C&C games. Me and some friends played it a few times on Linux, OSX and Windows and it worked smoothly :)

Direct link to OpenRA's 4/20/20 release highlights video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2sQP3YYBMA As noted elsewhere ITT, "we made the decision to go with the GPL license to ensure compatibility with projects like CnCNet and Open RA." Given the progress of OpenRA, and quality of the above release video, the open source version seems like it is likely to eclipse the capability of the original game in the foreseeab…

Post by Conan_Kudo » Thu, May 21, 2020, 3:14 AM UTC

pnako wrote: post #159

alexeldeib wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From GitHub: Electronic Arts: 27 repos Azure: 1.8k repos n.b., I work in Azure, make your own conclusions.

It's mostly templates, SDKs, etc. MS is open-sourcing the pieces of cheese that lead to their proprietary cloud-shaped trap. I don't think they've open-sourced anything related to Azure itself (i.e. if I wanted to run my own Azure-like cloud). I'm not saying it's a bad or even unethical strategy. I'm just saying that MS is not, remotely, an open-source company.