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DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

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Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#71

Post by rzzzt »

tecleandor wrote: post #42
sourcegrift wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't these names trademarked? I can imagine lockheed selling the rights for a side income lol

The F-19 denomination was never used, they skipped from F-18 to F-20. The game was based on what they believed that the stealth fighter (F-117) was going to be before it was publicly acknowledged. So maybe it wasn't trademarked. (Or maybe they trademarked everything just in case...) Vaguely similar to the F-29 Retaliator game, that was based in the X-29 experimental fighter, but not in an existing F-29 of any kind.

What about the Su-27 and Eurofighter games (from a bit later)?

Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#72

Post by irishcoffee »

snerbles wrote: post #41
ixp_ninja wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fixed (might need a Shift-Ctrl-R reload). Apologies, English is not my first language.

No worries, in some languages it is indeed one word - like Luftwaffe . I've seen many native English speakers routinely bang out "airforce", so it's not just an ESL thing.

You spelled chair force wrong!

Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#73

Post by wbl »

qmr wrote: post #57
xp84 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somehow I’m not that concerned. I haven’t heard of any company but Nintendo trying to assert rights to 1980s game IP, and that’s because they’re still selling those literal ROMs as part of a subscription service. Would I port such a game and then sell it? No, because that kind of puts a target on your back. Keeping it open source and also noncommercial, I don’t think it’s ever gonna matter. (Obligatory I’m not a lawy…

It's not because they're selling ROMs, that only accounts for a small fraction of their back library. It's because they're assholes.

Many of their franchises date back to that era and are incredibly valuable. It's like Disney caring about Steamboat Willey all those years.

Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#74

Post by ixp_ninja »

taffydavid wrote: post #67
ixp_ninja wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not about running the game, it's about having it open for modification. Patching a game in binary form is ridiculously hard, anything than simple bugfixes is mostly a no-go. With the source code available we can add entire features, port it to Windows 10, implement 4K HDR, textures, new models, new missions... the sky's the limit. Additionally, it's really hard to analyze the game from assembly opcodes with hard…

Ok but - and again I'm trying not to be negative, simply trying to understand - if you want a flight sim that works on Windows 10 and supports 4k HDR, wouldn't it be a lot easier to just build it from scratch, rather than trying to decompile a game from 1989 that came on 5¼ inch floppies? I mean, even if someone just _gave_ you the source code of the 1989 game it would be more work to port it to Windows or as a featu…

I could do you one better, if I just wanted a flight sim that works on Win10 with 4K HDR, I could just install DCS with the F15 module from Steam and call it a day. ;) I just happen to love this particular game, and would like to see it transcend its limitations. I am also an enthusiast of MS-DOS and early x86 hardware, so digging through all that stuff is pure joy for me, and I don't see it as "work" or "baggage".

Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#75

Post by ixp_ninja »

npunt wrote: post #39
gmerc wrote: post #20

It’s ridiculously easy to port games now. https://robin.tooclever.org took less than a day in API time

This is cool! Is there an index of these ported games / OSS ports?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_video_games...

Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#76

Post by gmerc »

npunt wrote: post #39
gmerc wrote: post #20

It’s ridiculously easy to port games now. https://robin.tooclever.org took less than a day in API time

This is cool! Is there an index of these ported games / OSS ports?

Occasionally added to https://this.os.isfine.org

Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#77

Post by bluedino »

LowLevelMahn wrote: post #2

Playable DOS version available First step was the full reverse to assembler, second step is to convert the assembler to binary equal compiled C code, all this still on DOS until no assembler code is left, then the porting to Linux,Windows will start Reversing tends to bring in new bugs and its not easy to find all bugs in such old and reversed code - but so far everything seems to work try finding open bugs if you go…

Dumb question, but if parts of the game are written in asm, can you create C code that produces a binary equivalent when compiled?

Re: DOS Game "F-15 Strike Eagle II" reversing project needs DOS test pilots

#78

Post by LowLevelMahn »

bluedino wrote: post #77
LowLevelMahn wrote: post #2

Playable DOS version available First step was the full reverse to assembler, second step is to convert the assembler to binary equal compiled C code, all this still on DOS until no assembler code is left, then the porting to Linux,Windows will start Reversing tends to bring in new bugs and its not easy to find all bugs in such old and reversed code - but so far everything seems to work try finding open bugs if you go…

Dumb question, but if parts of the game are written in asm, can you create C code that produces a binary equivalent when compiled?

no thats nearly impossible
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