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One thing that disappoints me about GOG is that, for many older video games, they use a DOSBOX version instead of a modern source port. For example, if you pic

One thing that disappoints me about GOG is that, for many older video games, they use a DOSBOX version instead of a modern source port. For example, if you pick up Descent 1&2 [0] you get it in all its 320x200 glory, complete with multiplayer that requires you to enable IPX in DOSBOX, extremely limited controller support, weird framerate issues, and assorted other glitches. But the modern community has rehabilitated the 20-year-old game [1]. The internal game physics are the same (the ship and the weapons behave like the original) but you get access to higher resolution, better controller support, a multiplayer game tracker, and lots of other metagame improvements (including new modes for team play.) It's a better experience all around, and GOG could easily add a source port without any legal complication whatsoever. [0] http://www.gog.com/game/descent_1_descent_2 http://www.gog.com/game/descent_1_descent_2 [1] http://descentchampions.org/new_player.php http://descentchampions.org/new_player.php -- install instructions

binarycrusader 11y ago
Actually, that's trickier than it sounds. The original licenses for the Descent/Freespace source releases prohibit commercial use from what I recall. Unwinding that licensing mess so that they could use it is likely not worth the return on investment.
- lotharbot 11y ago
  They've already tracked down the original license holders/issuers in order to release the software in the first place. It seems to me like it would be orders of magnitude less work to contact a source port author and get all parties to agree to a simple modified license that would allow for source modifications to be included in the bundle. (The original Parallax license for Descent, as well as the Rebirth modification to it, can be found at https://github.com/CDarrow/DXX-Retro/blob/master/COPYING.txt https://github.com/CDarrow/DXX-Retro/blob/master/COPYING.txt . I'm not sure it would even need to be modified -- it prohibits "end users" from using it for revenue-generating purposes, but doesn't prohibit the original rights holders from bundling that end-user code with the original software.)
pervycreeper 11y ago
Nothing's preventing you from using a source port after purchasing the game assets from GOG
- lotharbot 11y ago
  Nothing prevents me from using a source port after purchasing the assets from GOG (in fact, the source port installer is designed to use GOG assets if available.) The thing that prevents some people from using source ports is that they don't know they exist. I regularly run into people who have bought Descent from GOG or Steam and are upset that they can't get multiplayer working, who have no idea about the source ports. (I normally find people like this in the chat room or forums for the prequel, Descent:Underground -- http://descendentstudios.com/ http://descendentstudios.com/ . It's been less than 24 hours since I last helped someone who had complained about, in this case, the Steam version, which is nearly identical to the GOG version.)

binarycrusader 11y ago

Actually, that's trickier than it sounds. The original licenses for the Descent/Freespace source releases prohibit commercial use from what I recall. Unwinding that licensing mess so that they could use it is likely not worth the return on investment.

lotharbot 11y ago
They've already tracked down the original license holders/issuers in order to release the software in the first place. It seems to me like it would be orders of magnitude less work to contact a source port author and get all parties to agree to a simple modified license that would allow for source modifications to be included in the bundle. (The original Parallax license for Descent, as well as the Rebirth modification to it, can be found at https://github.com/CDarrow/DXX-Retro/blob/master/COPYING.txt https://github.com/CDarrow/DXX-Retro/blob/master/COPYING.txt . I'm not sure it would even need to be modified -- it prohibits "end users" from using it for revenue-generating purposes, but doesn't prohibit the original rights holders from bundling that end-user code with the original software.)

pervycreeper 11y ago

Nothing's preventing you from using a source port after purchasing the game assets from GOG

lotharbot 11y ago
Nothing prevents me from using a source port after purchasing the assets from GOG (in fact, the source port installer is designed to use GOG assets if available.) The thing that prevents some people from using source ports is that they don't know they exist. I regularly run into people who have bought Descent from GOG or Steam and are upset that they can't get multiplayer working, who have no idea about the source ports. (I normally find people like this in the chat room or forums for the prequel, Descent:Underground -- http://descendentstudios.com/ http://descendentstudios.com/ . It's been less than 24 hours since I last helped someone who had complained about, in this case, the Steam version, which is nearly identical to the GOG version.)