What can we do with the sourcecode?

[tansytansey]

So... any eta on when that stoopid microsoft will FINALLY give the modders da code? Has anyone actually formally asked within the last 6 months?

It's doubtful they'll ever let us have the source code for anything less than six zeros. I think it's better not to focus on what we could do, but on what we can do. FLhook has already opened a huge world of freelancer modding without needing the Source Code.

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|Ashes and Draya's Epic Adventure|Ashes "Nighthawk" Yotaka|Nightfall|Eva Jones|
[5:50:49 PM] JakeSG (William Darkmoor) says: I like you, Ashes. You're more cynical than God.

[Recoil9000]

even with the source code, someone has to go through and depict what each line of code depicts. They have to sort through variables, methods, loops... on and on.

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[HoopyFrood]

Never? Really, relatively few companies are willing to release the coding for their projects. And I believe that even with the source code, there is still only so much you can do without a large task force, budget, lots of time and good coding knowledge. So you could walk around planets and bases, but I imagine it would be a pain in the ass and buggy as hell.

Agree with that IF we ever do get the source it would be silly to try and implement stuff like that with very few programmers. Better to concentrate on small but important improvements like the server code and graphics.

even with the source code, someone has to go through and depict what each line of code depicts. They have to sort through variables, methods, loops... on and on.

Im sure if Microsoft did release the code it would be commented thought, so it would be that hard for and of the communities programmers to find out what was going on.

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[JakeSG]

Agree with that IF we ever do get the source it would be silly to try and implement stuff like that with very few programmers. Better to concentrate on small but important improvements like the server code and graphics.
Im sure if Microsoft did release the code it would be commented thought, so it would be that hard for and of the communities programmers to find out what was going on.

Graphics are important?

Anyway, I'd say a major point for them not releasing the source code is that if they ever did, then they'd be bombarded with requests from other people to give it to them too. Then we get lots of wonderful little mini-FL's with only the tiniest of differences springing up everywhere, which contrary to common belief actually suffocate the few real mods. Oh, and you'd probably have to download the full 600 megs or whatever for each individual mod.

In short, it'd be nice. But even if it does happen it would cause much too many issues and be quite possibly too troublesome to mess around with.

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For the Core.

[johnpeter]

Also, the lack of profit is always a blocker...
They can get 30-60$ a month not releasing it!
Who would pay for the inferior version, if the better one was free?

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Come on! Be free!

[HoopyFrood]

Graphics are important?

Anyway, I'd say a major point for them not releasing the source code is that if they ever did, then they'd be bombarded with requests from other people to give it to them too. Then we get lots of wonderful little mini-FL's with only the tiniest of differences springing up everywhere, which contrary to common belief actually suffocate the few real mods. Oh, and you'd probably have to download the full 600 megs or whatever for each individual mod.

In short, it'd be nice. But even if it does happen it would cause much too many issues and be quite possibly too troublesome to mess around with.

Graphics are important to me, but my view might be slightly jaundiced because that's the type of game programming I enjoy the most.


But yes I agree it will never ever ever ever happen, microsoft wont do t because there is nothing in it for them.

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[tansytansey]

Graphics are important to me, but my view might be slightly jaundiced because that's the type of game programming I enjoy the most.

Graphics are probably the least important aspect. Not only does Freelancer have awesome graphics for a game of its' age, even by today's standards (not top-of the line, but none the less), we also don't need stunning graphics to enjoy a solidly built game.

Also, graphics aren't programming. They're animation. There's three kinds of people in game development, animators, programmers and testers. Animators hate Programmers, because they want to make everything look pretty. Programmers hate Animators, because they just want to make the game work. But everyone hates testers.

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|Ashes and Draya's Epic Adventure|Ashes "Nighthawk" Yotaka|Nightfall|Eva Jones|
[5:50:49 PM] JakeSG (William Darkmoor) says: I like you, Ashes. You're more cynical than God.

[HoopyFrood]

Graphics are probably the least important aspect. Not only does Freelancer have awesome graphics for a game of its' age, even by today's standards (not top-of the line, but none the less), we also don't need stunning graphics to enjoy a solidly built game.

Also, graphics aren't programming. They're animation. There's three kinds of people in game development, animators, programmers and testers. Animators hate Programmers, because they want to make everything look pretty. Programmers hate Animators, because they just want to make the game work. But everyone hates testers.

Actually you graphics is both programming and art, but from my point of view its programming. I mean the artists sure as hell dont sit and do their graphics with something like this...

Code:

void CGameApp::OnRenderFrame( LPDIRECT3DDEVICE9 pDevice )
{
    pDevice->Clear( 0, 0, D3DCLEAR_TARGET, D3DCOLOR_XRGB( 0, 0, 200 ), 1.0f, 0 );
    pDevice->BeginScene();

    // Render scene here

    pDevice->EndScene();
    pDevice->Present( 0, 0, 0, 0 );
}

Thats what I specialize in ^^ that is the part of my base DirectX 9 framework, although saying that I still prefer openGL

And yes freelancer does still have very good graphics but when I play I notice many small areas where it slows down and I know that that's a bottleneck under the older API, and could easily be improved leading to prettier graphics and performance gains.

Quick edit: In game development its more usually programmer hating animators because they want to make it look a certain way when the studio has already been told no by the publisher but then still go and do it, and then we programmers fall behind when they have to go away and redo it, then we get really annoyed when they give it to us in the wrong format:Dbelieve me Ive experienced that one too many times. Oh and I don't hate the testers, no I hate the producers(Ie studio executives) they like to get half way thru a development cycle and go OHH I was reading that forum last night and thought it would be cool if we scrapped half the game we have right now and put in sharks with friggin laser beams in with pink hippos and ninjas flinging stars at you all the time.

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[masternerdguy]

Just wondering... with all the talk about pressurizing microsoft to release the source code, what exactly can you do with it?
I assume A GREAT MANY THINGS, but can you name a few examples that arn't here already?

Also, how about better voiceacting? Can it be put in without the source code?

I mean... I hate it when the station says 'this is B-L-A-N-K, you are cleared to dock'.
However, I seldom play with voice on these days anyway...

as a developer, let me tell you source code can do anything. we can get anything.

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Send the fat kid in to see if its a trap

[Errant.Venture]

i think we would have to wait...till 2013 to actually obtain the sourcecode for free...after 10 years, the copyright expires....and thats normally when you see a bunch of old games revived, like System Shock 2, Halflife....

But if Igiss and crew did actually obtain the Sourcecode.....I am sure this community would recieve EPICNESS status in record time


The only game i know of, let me rephrase.....that i play, that hasnt done so yet, is Blizzard's Diablo 2....and 1.13 is coming out in 1 week....supposedly....Blizzard dont fail me now

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