Why not Open Source?

[Shapyi]

I am not requesting that Zelda Classic go open source, that is up to the developers. But why has this program remained closed source for so long? I think that the overall project would benefit from something like Source Forge with CVS or SVN.

Just wondering.

[Revfan9]

Because the point of ZC is it being compatible for everyone to use. If everyone was making seperate versions, then what could happen is that every quest needs a seperate version of ZC, which would be very, very bad.

If you want to work on ZC... Well, to become a developer nowadays all you really need to do is show that you know how to code in C/C++ and you're pretty much in.

[Luigi]

It's up to War Lord and Phantom Menace if ZC becomes open-source - at the moment it's highly unlikely, due to quest compatibility (described above) and security, and probably numerous other reasons.

[redmage777]

Because the point of ZC is it being compatible for everyone to use. If everyone was making seperate versions, then what could happen is that every quest needs a seperate version of ZC, which would be very, very bad.

More likely the ZC engine would be distributed as part of the Quest and the whole thing would be self-contained. They would modify the player to play their quest in the same fashion that the current version plays Zelda 1. They would most likely Keep their Modified version of ZQuest seprate.This could be both bad or good, depending on you point of veiw.

If I recall, one of the main reasons that Zelda Classic will not go open source is that the origenal author (Phantom Menace) told the current developer they can't.

[Nicholas Steel]

More likely the ZC engine would be distributed as part of the Quest and the whole thing would be self-contained. They would modify the player to play their quest in the same fashion that the current version plays Zelda 1. They would most likely Keep their Modified version of ZQuest seprate.This could be both bad or good, depending on you point of veiw.

If I recall, one of the main reasons that Zelda Classic will not go open source is that the origenal author (Phantom Menace) told the current developer they can't.

wouldnt that mean quest authors wanting to make cross compatible quests need to know C and/or C++ code?

[Shapyi]

Releasing the engine under the GPL license would force whoever modifies it to release the source code. If the source code was released then other developers could port Zelda Classic to a lot more platforms, all the weight wouldn't be on the core development staff.

[redmage777]

wouldnt that mean quest authors wanting to make cross compatible quests need to know C and/or C++ code?

Yes, at least those who do it that way (Make their own version of Zelda Classic just for their Quest) Modifying any Open Source code generally requires those who do it to know C, C++, or whatever language its coded in. Regular Quest Makers who simply make quests would still be able to do it the Normal way.

[Shapyi]

Of course with every open source project there is always those few people who make small modifications to a project for their own uses. Who knows, if their modified versions have a lot of interesting features and do not break the old ones then it can become part of the official version. As long as it is under GPL they would need to release the source code.

Personally I would like to port Zelda Classic to PSP or maybe even Xbox and eventually make a Quest Editor with a better user interface (maybe modeled after the RPG Maker 2000). Thats as far as I would go with the source code. With the current scripting features being added I do not see any reason for someone to go through the trouble of changing the actual engine.

[larienna]

Making an open source game could have many advantages :

- First, the port of the game on other platform. For example, I would love to have a version of ZC for my Game Park, but I am not sure that the ZC devllopers are interested in making one(and I understand them). Same thing for mac, linux and other OS. Allegro support many OS, so we could make at least make a game for all the OS supported by allegro.

- Second : It can accelerate the development and remove a load of stuff-to-do from your shoulder. The idea is to stay the master of the master game. People will try to make add-ons to the game. When the add-on works, and his fully tested, they should post the add-on to you and then, if you want, you include it in your master game. You can set a list of specific rules to submit add-on and be very restrictive to make sure the game does not go wild and buggy.

- Third : The engine could be used to make other game using a real-time top scroller basher engine (ex: crystalis). I don't think that quest maker would be interested in hacking into the code for their quest. The only exception would be those who makes non Zelda quest like : Megaman and Metroid. I think there are really few quest makes that knows how to code in C.

I think that if you determine a specific set of rules you can still manage to control an open source game. Else release the source as read only. The people can view the code but can't submit add-on and Quest database will only take quest working with the master game.

[Dark Nation]

The reasons why ZC isn't Open Source is three-fold:

1. Phantom Menace and War Lord said no. The devs will abide by their wishes.

2. Deserved or not, AGN has made a lot of enemies over the years. They have tried to steal ZC from us several times in the past. Making ZC Open Source could easily (especially if it were intentional) cause forks and separate ZC camps. This would be one of the easiest and most effective ways to cause us problems.

3. The protection granted by the GPL would be practically useless to us given ZC's own shaky legal standing.

As for a GamePark port, one is currently being worked on for the GP2X.