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Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

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Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#191

Post by csydas »

chii wrote: post #159
nspattak wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as I would love to see blizzard's code, it is their intellectual property. This is nothing similar to wikileaks. Wikileaks publishes information that should have been public because it is of public interest and relates to the public yet it is not available to the public.

Why isnt a culturally significant game's source not considered public interest? Especially when the game is no longer being sold?

In this particular and narrow instance, it does seem like Blizzard is making good on going back and updating and maintaining the old code. You can argue the reasons, I suppose, but this seems in line with exactly what copyright is supposed to be protecting here. They're reviving support for the game, updating it for modern machines to receive, and making the previous iteration accessible.

I would love to have it to, but it's hard to fault Blizzard here for anything but "hey it would be really nice if you..."

There is still a vested interest in protecting this game from Blizzard's point of view, and it sucks, but in this case they have a fairly good justification and have been holding up their end of the bargain (re-releasing)

They've been real champs about these older games, like Diablo II getting updates. My heart skipped a beat when we finally got a native OS X client update that wasn't a Carbon app - that was really going above and beyond in my opinion, and their support was great for it despite the hiccups on release.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#192

Post by croon »

eridius wrote: post #48
devwastaken wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, actually, if they want their product back, they are obligated to pay however much is necessary to do so. They have no leverage other than that. They're spending a very tiny amount of money to repress something that would become quite popular without them.

That's actually probably completely wrong. Just because the guy got it off of eBay doesn't mean it's not actually property of Blizzard. That's like saying that just because you bought a stolen phone from some guy in an alley, the rightful owner can't demand it back.

That's a bad comparison. A stolen phone is 1) Likely reported stolen. 2) A finite resource. This is a printed CD-R that Blizzard likely didn't know existed.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#193

Post by Scea91 »

sneak wrote: post #186
Scea91 wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, if I were an influential person, should my private diaries also be made public, even though I have no wish to share them?

After one's death, it's no longer their business what happens to their secrets. One has no dog in the race any longer.

Sure, but AFAIK Blizzard is not dead yet.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#194

Post by dagw »

slackingoff2017 wrote: post #171
dagw wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who make a "gold disc" for source code The company I used to work for always made an archive copy of the exact source code we had compiled for each major release, so that there would never be any doubt about exactly which source code we had compiled to make each version of our game. And who the fuck makes a "gold source" disc that's also "professionally printed"? That disc does not look professionally printed. It loo…

Fair points, but I don't think CD-R was ever used as a serious archive format. Even back then it was known that the inks were prone to fading. I just think the likelihood of the source being in this format is extremely low and when coupled with the timing of this article it's all but certain that this is a marketing piece. Looking at the reddit user that found this disc... He was looking for a job at a "big name" tec…

I don't think CD-R was ever used as a serious archive format.

Oh it absolutely was. Maybe we shouldn't have and it might or might not have been good idea, but it was very common.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#195

Post by corobo »

chii wrote: post #164
jakebasile wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But in this case, that's Blizzard's right. They own it whether you like it or not. Just because something is important doesn't mean they should lose property rights to it. Abandonware is a thing and I remember there being some legal headway made recently in that respect, but Starcraft isn't abandoned. They just released a compatibility patch and made it free to download.

Blizzard does not lose their rights to it when somebody uploads the source code publically. If someone decides to use theor source code that they did not obtain a license for, blizzard can always sue. Reading and learning​ from said source code is, and should not ever be illegal.

Uploading it is using it. The uploader would be sued if anyone. Anyone else using the code would be sent a C&D first.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#196

Post by qb45 »

spike021 wrote: post #70
gottam wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We could of had enthusiastic fans see the inner workings of such a beloved game and tons of articles around the technical details, but instead we protected the intellectual property rights of a billion dollar corporation. Strictly by law, it was "the right thing to do", but it was a real missed historic opportunity.

It's still their property. IMO non-Blizzard individuals have no right to post it.

> It's still their property. IMO non-Blizzard individuals have no right to post it.

It's not their property, it's copyrighted. He indeed had no right to publish the contents but also no obvious obligation to return it. IMO he did a lame thing, the only worse option being uploading it anywhere before the © expires and getting into legal trouble.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#197

Post by croon »

IsmaOlvey wrote: post #172
Dylan16807 wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The source is Blizzard's intellectual property The tomb and its contents are the property of the Pharaoh in it.

Except the Pharaoh would still be alive(!?) in this case.

Neither Chris Metzen or James Phinney even works at Blizzard anymore. The same is likely true for many of the coders.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#198

Post by qb45 »

Scea91 wrote: post #173
jpgvm wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. It's not. Chiefly because Starcraft is not a normal game. This is a game that defined a cultural generation in South Korea, established e-sports singlehandedly and in many ways made the RTS genre what it is today. It should be archived. Even if it can never be released due to copyright or other legal nonsense it shouldn't be left to a commercial entity to ensure it survives.

So, if I were an influential person, should my private diaries also be made public, even though I have no wish to share them?

I have a bad news for you: this is usually exactly what happens.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#199

Post by infinityplus1 »

yomly wrote: post #142
infinityplus1 wrote: post #140

Many are blaming him for not releasing the source code anonymously. Do you really think he had the knowledge to do that safely? He would have already done that if he could. It's really simple, don't play with fire if you don't know how to handle it.

How would you release something anonymously? Tor?

TOR seems to be the best option. But even I don't know much regarding the best practices.

Re: Guy Finds StarCraft Source Code and Returns It to Blizzard

#200

Post by retox »

eridius wrote: post #47
Sabinus wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kotaku has a very bad reputation among some circles. Perhaps I'm wrong. It is the first time for HN, but I've seen this practice on other websites.

If you don't think Kotaku is a site worth reading, don't read it. But reading cached copies just so you can avoid giving the page view to Kotaku is stupid. If they're producing content you want to read, then just read it!

The 'article' is a collection of links to reddit, which is about the level of reporting you should expect from kotaku.
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