Open Source

[jman2050]

WIll it go open source? Who knows? I can't really answer the question right now, just know that the possibility is out there.

[Zenphobia]

I strong support the open source movement! :)

[Nicholas Steel]

if its open source someone could make a version thats compatible with all previous versions and thus people would possible use that instead of the original.

[Zenphobia]

if its open source someone could make a version thats compatible with all previous versions and thus people would possible use that instead of the original.

I really doubt anyone would write something to replace the original, it would be more for personal customizations that aren't related to the goals of the original creators.

The original will always be the best at what it's set out to do.

[djdarkx]

it would be more for personal customizations that aren't related to the goals of the original creators.

Alright. Now, with that, what about other people's quests? They either won't work or the custom quests made with that other programmers ZC would be incompatible anyways. So, with that in mind, it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Best thing to do is submit ideas or have other users join the dev team for ZC.

djDarkX

[Zenphobia]

That's actually one of my few complaints, to play a quest one must have ZC. I know this sounds a little weird at first, but it would be easier to distribute quests to people unfamiliar with ZC.

Yeah, it's fun to show off our work to each other, but it would be nice if the quests were a stand alone product of ZC.

[*b*]

I agree. it'd be nice to be able to make, like, a .exe file for individual quests, that you just open and play, but that's probably a ways off

as for the whole open-source thing, DN has stated in the past that ZC will remain closed-source while he's a part of it. I can only speculate as to why, and I don't know if he's changed his mind since then, but, for the time being, it's closed source. be happy you're able to play it at all; that's where I stand

[Rakki]

I agree. it'd be nice to be able to make, like, a .exe file for individual quests, that you just open and play, but that's probably a ways off

as for the whole open-source thing, DN has stated in the past that ZC will remain closed-source while he's a part of it. I can only speculate as to why, and I don't know if he's changed his mind since then, but, for the time being, it's closed source. be happy you're able to play it at all; that's where I stand

I feel two ways about the whole quest .exe thing. It'd be cool to just be able to open a quest through an .exe and then have 3 files for that quest like LoZ, and probably be able to customize the menu, and the title screen and such. Although I'd worry about .exes being able to contain viruses or whatnot, since it's been through people other than the real developer's hands. What I think would work nicely is a program made by the developers that converts .qst files into .exes that use their own title screen, etc. and have their own save files, rather than saving to Zelda.sav. That way, we'd still download .qst files, but we'd convert them to .exes ourselves, if we wanted to.

Also, my guess as to the reason why DN wants to keep it closed-source is the same reason I'd like to keep my own projects closed-source: so nobody can STEAL it. If ZC was open source, someone could take the source code, rewrite some lines, then create a forum for it in some dark corner of the internet, and then people who didn't know any better might show up there and think that THEY created it, and then there could be a big legal dispute if AGN found out about it, and... yeah. Too much of a hassle to worry about someone claiming it as their own.

[koopa]

At the moment there's one official ZC and it's maintained by competent developers, to say the least. In the present form Nintendo accepts it as a fan project and allows it. Further Nintendo knows who to contact - Armageddon Games - should any issues arise.

The name Zelda and anything associated with it is copyright of Nintendo. If ZC went open source then anyone could build their own version with adware, a virus, or start to sell it. All of this could bring negative publicity and, in the worst case, Nintendo withdrawing its approval of ZC. Having it shut down because some people abuse the freedom an open-source ZC would give is the last thing we need. Incidentally I'd imagine AGN would need their approval before open-sourcing it anyway.

Then there is the issue of quests. Anyone can make a quest and password it so that people can play it but not edit it. This is, from reading through past posts, one of the main reasons for keeping ZC closed-source. There's also the large amount of work the developers put into ZC and I understand if they don't want to give it all away for free.

Then there's the issue of the 'relationship' between ZC and AGN. And quite a story it is too, with intrigues and everything. I will say no more on that point than that most of it was before my time here anyway.

I wouldn't chose to open-source it if it was my decision. As long as it is maintained at one place, there's one official ZC, that everone can make quests for and everyone play them with the same program. I doubt if making the source public would really help ZC as such, but that's just my opinion.

Whether the source code could be shown to interested individuals, perhaps under restrictions, that is another matter.

[Zenphobia]

Let me preface this by saying I respect the developers of ZC, and that I certainly wouldn't hold it against them or the ZC community if they choose to keep the program closed source. It is their creation, and they have a right to do as they please. However, I can still make my case and make polite suggestions. :)

The adware or virus complaint is taking the situation a bit far, I mean come on, the people that release viruses want to target a mass audience, and compared to other web communities, ZC is tiny.

If someone takes ZC and starts selling it or abuses it, they are responsible, not the original creators. Really, whats to stop people from selling it now even if its closed source?

Password protection on quests: if someone really wanted to break into a quest and steal content, they would. Thats just how internet security works, where there's a will theres a way.

The quest angle was one I honestly didn't consider, though if the quests could be made it into independent executables, or some file variation (perhaps a ROM type format) the problem of quest compatibility would no longer matter. And honestly, it would be much easier to share our quests with friends.

I think many of you are forgetting why Zelda Classic is great: we are finally able to explore the massive potential of ZC (and Link to the Past for that matter). Look at some of the quests members of the community of created, some bearing little or no resemblance to the original Zelda. Imagine the possibilities: do away with the framed sections of the world, and have the center of the screen be attached to link so when he moves the world is seemless, rather than screen shifts every 5 seconds. We could impliment multiplayer support, imagine romping through a big dungeon with a friend and solving puzzles that are designed for 2 people. Using open source MMO servers, we could make a Zelda style MMO. How cool would that be?

Maybe I'm just a dreamer. It would be cool if the developers did all of this, but it's not fair to demand such things from them, hence me suggesting open source. If anyone is curious about the open source movement, a lot of good has come from it, this is a particular good website for it:

http://opensource.org/index.php