Dark Reign 2 Goes Open Source 41
An anonymous reader writes "One of Activision's last RTS games, Dark Reign 2, has gone open source under the LGPL. Although the release by a former Pandemic Studios employee was some time ago, it had happened relatively silently. With the source code now available, it is hoped that online play that isn't dependent on WON servers will be implemented and possibly ports to other platforms."
I bought this game... (Score:2)
Years ago I picked it up in a bargain bin and found that it was quite playable. The graphics were cutting-edge for its time, too.
I'm not sure what OS developers can gain from it, but I'm all for being able to get an updated game to relive the experience, as i still have the CD. Remember CDs?
Re: (Score:1)
Sure OS developers can gain something from it, even if it's outdated. Just recently, Warow 1.0 was released. This project was built around the Quake 2 engine. It was modernized some to look quite nice. :)
It's a good base to expand on. If you want to, of course.
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Sure OS developers can gain something from it, even if it's outdated. Just recently, Warow 1.0 was released. This project was built around the Quake 2 engine. It was modernized some to look quite nice. :)
Did you mean Warsow [warsow.net]?
Re: (Score:1)
I sure did. The source I copied the name from uses it like so: http://tweakers.net/meuktracker/28971/warow-10.html [tweakers.net] :)
I pasted that, with the replacement for the S like there, and Slashdot then stripped it which I missed. Thanks for clearing it up.
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For those playing along at home, I believe he meant Warsow [warsow.net].
Code AND Assets (Score:5, Informative)
From the looks of things the assets are included. There's a 790MB rar file here
http://code.google.com/p/darkreign2/source/browse/#svn%2Ffull_game [google.com]
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That's both unusual and awesome.
Getting the code is always nice, but you can't do anything fun with it until you have assets to attach. That whole tedious and often unsuccessful part is now not really necessary, so work on bending the code can begin already and it will have good output to test.
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It's definitely unusual because it was most likely an unauthorized code leak. If this was really an "official" open sourcing of the game all the headers would have been properly updated and you wouldn't have code in there that said it is specifically not supposed to be publicly disclosed.
ESET not liking that source file - malware detecte (Score:1)
It just doesn't look as fun as the 2D original (Score:2, Insightful)
It just doesn't look as fun as the 2D original. Sure, the graphics are 3D (and can take advantage of a 3D card) but aren't pixel perfect like the 2D original. You can't pack as much information into the screen, as the 3D models are just not optimal.
3D RPGs and RTS games just seem fiddly to me. It's a gratuitous exercise in realism which doesn't add anything to the gameplay.
Look at the really successful RPG and RTS games - War/Starcraft, Diablo, Dark Reign (the original) ... very little gratuitous 3D design.
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I can't comment on the relative fun of those two specific games; but '3d' has certain advantages beyond graphical glitz that come in handy.
Unless the game ships a fairly massive number of sprites or goes full vector graphics(also unlikely to meet 'pixel perfect' standards), the resolution-independence of 2d engines leaves... something to be desired. You can get away with modest movements up or down, in the original aspect ratio; but things get ugly and illegible pretty fast if you go outside that. Even in g
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3D RPGs and RTS games just seem fiddly to me. It's a gratuitous exercise in realism which doesn't add anything to the gameplay.
IMO, dungeon crawling is much more compelling in 3d. The first RPGs were first person for a good reason. Ultima, Wizardry, Might and Magic, The Bard's Tale, all 3d dungeon crawlers.
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I wasn't a fan of 3D real time strategy games until I played Spring. Almost every time I go back to another RTS now, I find myself utter
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That looks ... pretty awesome actually.
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Some of the best RTSs are 3d though. Total Annihilation and Company of Heroes. The 3d part IS important to the gameplay. Height is an advantage. Line of sight weapons vs indirect is interesting.
Illegal (Score:4, Informative)
Contains files like source/graphics/IMESHUtil.cpp which state: /*
* IMESHUtil.cpp
*
* INTEL CORPORATION PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
* This software is supplied under the terms of a license agreement or
* nondisclosure agreement with Intel Corporation and may not be copied
* or disclosed except in accordance with the terms of that agreement.
*
* Copyright (c) 1998 Intel Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
*
*
* PURPOSE:
*
* This file contains the implementation for the IMESH Utility
* functions that manage IMESH memory, read and writing of IMESHes, etc.
*
*
*/
So it should not be on Google Code
Re:Illegal (Score:5, Insightful)
"Copyright (c) 1998"
In a just world, that would be fair game by now.
Re: (Score:2)
Hence the whole content of my comment. Try reading it again, and you'll find:
1. I realize it's still in copyright.
2. I believe it should not be.
These are not mutually exclusive.
Re: (Score:2)
There was a time when it didn't. That's the point.
Instead, we live in a reality where our great-great-grandchildren *might* be able to freely copy that file from their deathbeds
Now forkable on github (Score:1)
https://github.com/medwards/darkreign2 [github.com]
Be careful (Score:3)
If it's LGPL why weren't the copyright headers updated? Most still just say things like:
Copyright 1997-1999 Pandemic Studios, Dark Reign
Seems a bit iffy at the moment.
Re:Be careful (Score:5, Insightful)
Judging by the amount of 3rd party code (a chunk of which I know for sure isn't open source in any way shape or form), I have strong doubts that this is legitimate.
My bet is that someone will get in trouble for posting this code, the code will be removed (from Google code and probably also from github and elsewhere that it might be uploaded to)
There is NO WAY that anyone connected with this would ever get permission to post the contents of e.g. 3rdparty\bink or 3rdparty\mss
Re: (Score:2)
This must have been flying under people's radar since this has been on Google Code since last September. But I'd imagine anyone really distributing this code is going to have hell to pay.
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Rad Game Tools would NEVER authorize the distribution of those header files.
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It's highly unusual for none of the source code files to have an updated LGPL license header and the third party code has license text stating it can't be disclosed as it's under license. Any open sourcing of code done officially had headers properly updated and a license text stating that the company gas released it under the new license. Also there is no proof that this person even has authorization to have released this.
Re: (Score:1)
WON servers? (Score:2)
With the source code now available, it is hoped that online play that isn't dependent on WON servers will be implemented
It's a shame WON no longer operates.
Oh wait, it does, it's just called Steam now. Unfortunately, it sounds like the network protocol used may have changed between WON and Steam.
Legal issues ahoy! (Score:5, Informative)
Hacker News user gets confirmation from repo owner that this was a leak not an official open sourcing. [ycombinator.com] Slashdot editors need to update the story to warn people.
One of the worst games ever made (Score:1)
Units that block each other and the worst pathfinding AI ever written.
I even like micromanagement in RTS games, but playing DR2 isn't micromanagement, it's babysitting a bunch of 1 year old George W. Bushes. I actually felt a sense of achievement when my own units died, as if I was contributing to raise the average IQ of the universe by a small but significant amount.
I still have this game's box on a shelf in front of me and I look at it whenever I'm thinking about buying something. I wasted $50 on the game