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Game Source Code Collection

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Re: Game Source Code Collection

#31

Post by iforgotpassword »

benologist wrote: post #22
iforgotpassword wrote: post #9

Nice, this also includes the infamous half-life 2 leak from 2007 as well as some other ones that definitely weren't officially released. Or like re-volt, which is now owned by a company still actively trying to take down mirrors of the code that pop up, hence any unofficial port of it only releases in binary form. But then again a lot of the older leaked ones, nobody probably cares about too much. There's definitely…

Game companies are learning old IP can be modernized for fresh new profits so most likely a lot of old game copyrights will become retroactively enforced and sources hunted down and expunged as they're remastered and made exclusively available in whatever online shop or subscription service. https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/22/17600008/nintendo-roms-law... https://www.maxim.com/entertainment/best-video-games-remaste...

IMHO that shouldn't be too much of a concern. As long as it's just the sources leaked and you only distribute your modified versions of it plus binaries, but not all the games assets, players still need a copy of the original game to actually play it. (So as long as people don't pirate it, it should be fine and if it's still on sale make them an additional buck or two, but that question is somewhat orthogonal.)

I'd even argue that you could be smart as the IP holder and release the code with a clause saying any modifications and extensions must be open source too and the IP holder had the right to use those and make money off of it. Then you can decide if you wanna take the risk of potentially working for some company for free when you take on porting that 90s racing game to the PS 4 in your spare time.

Taking down leaked source is obviously pretty simple due to DMCA, but as history has shown that just leads to groups working on it behind closed doors and only doing binary releases. Which might be technically illegal too but probably much more involved for the IP holder to prove, so they don't bother in most cases.

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#32

Post by org3432 »

derefr wrote: post #29
org3432 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the Buddhist texts, how could they own the rights to works written hundreds of years ago? They're simply digitizing the work, no translation. Here's an example: https://archive.org/details/bdrc-W1FPL194/page/n7

If the works, before their digitization, only existed in a private collection at a particular Buddhist temple, then their copyright clock wouldn't have kicked off. It would start the moment that the works entered the public sphere in some way. If that happened because of the digitization, then the digitization is under copyright. In this case, the original work is the "manuscript", and they're the "publisher."

Obviously at the time the texts were written, they were in circulation, but it predates modern copyright law. So maybe there's a loophole in the law they're exploiting, but regardless it's unethical, and Archive.org has the power to not accept works under those circumstances.

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#33

Post by ru999gol »

org3432 wrote: post #12
convolvatron wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i have looked for this, and kind find any useful intersection of the terms 'archive.org' and 'DRM'...except for bemoaning its general existence. you could elaborate?

Here’s one example of DRM: https://archive.org/details/inlibrary?sort=-publicdate They have collections they don’t let you download, they should just refuse those collections to force the platform to be free to download like the Gutenberg Project for example.

you have a simple choice: either have those collections be kept and preserved, OR have them disappear forever. We can all be grateful we at least have one non-profit who does give a fuck at all, no for-profit business will ever do any preservation work like it.

Gutenberg is only preserving public domain works, MANY are lost to humanity way before that.

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#34

Post by jimminy »

adam0c wrote: post #30

do you have the source code to FF8 because apparently that went missing

It didn't go missing. Square had an institutional policy that had them deleting source once projects were mastered and shipped, through to the early 2000's. FFVII-FFIX, Parasite Eve and numerous other games lost their source.

What's been recovered has been occasionally the code from contracted PC ports.

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#35

Post by jplayer01 »

Flavorfish wrote: post #10

I find the views in the about section to be interesting. Seems this collection has gotten a massive spike of views in the last month of ~9,000 people, which is ~30x that of the last few months. I wonder if this comes down to hacker news, because at ~70 votes this post would have a view / vote ratio of about 125x, which seems in the ballpark but maybe a little high? As you would guess California is the most common ori…

https://old.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/cdih04/game_source...

https://old.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/caphdj/game_so...

It was also reposted on Reddit several times this month, and on Hacker News (before this) as well. Seems to be making the rounds.

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#36

Post by org3432 »

ru999gol wrote: post #33
org3432 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here’s one example of DRM: https://archive.org/details/inlibrary?sort=-publicdate They have collections they don’t let you download, they should just refuse those collections to force the platform to be free to download like the Gutenberg Project for example.

you have a simple choice: either have those collections be kept and preserved, OR have them disappear forever. We can all be grateful we at least have one non-profit who does give a fuck at all, no for-profit business will ever do any preservation work like it. Gutenberg is only preserving public domain works, MANY are lost to humanity way before that.

Because it discourages people from creating works then if they can't be free. Why would you want to write something valuable for humanity if in the end someone is going to steal it and put DRM on it? For me personally, I'd not write the work at all knowing that, since it goes against the spirit of making it for humanity to begin with.

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#37

Post by xingped »

jimminy wrote: post #34
adam0c wrote: post #30

do you have the source code to FF8 because apparently that went missing

It didn't go missing. Square had an institutional policy that had them deleting source once projects were mastered and shipped, through to the early 2000's. FFVII-FFIX, Parasite Eve and numerous other games lost their source. What's been recovered has been occasionally the code from contracted PC ports.

Why did they have such a policy? That seems crazy!

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#39

Post by kevingadd »

0_gravitas wrote: post #26
doggydogs94 wrote: post #25

If you slave away at a game (or some other piece of code), over time the fruits of your labor will become worthless.

It's not worthless if it gets you paid

Not to mention that in game development, the experience from your first shipped title is massively valuable when developing the second

Re: Game Source Code Collection

#40

Post by JimiofEden »

jimminy wrote: post #34
adam0c wrote: post #30

do you have the source code to FF8 because apparently that went missing

It didn't go missing. Square had an institutional policy that had them deleting source once projects were mastered and shipped, through to the early 2000's. FFVII-FFIX, Parasite Eve and numerous other games lost their source. What's been recovered has been occasionally the code from contracted PC ports.

Do you have a source on that by chance? The only hearsay I've heard is that it went missing because 'circumstances', and now you're claiming that they purposefully deleted it.

Which, if true, makes me earnestly sick to my stomach.

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