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My project is now an easter egg in Microsoft Flight Simulator
- shadeslayer_ 4y agoStrange that Microsoft used OP's project in their game, but didn't bother to let him know.
- drummer 4y agoVery strange indeed
- leononame 4y agoI agree - even if they're legally allowed to just take his work, it would've been nice to let OP know.
- alt227 4y agoConsidering they fully own all of the IP present in the OPs work, I would imagine they are within their full rights to just take it without asking. OP is lucky not to get a takedown notice and judging by his attitude he knows it. Good to see people playing nicely together :)
- bayindirh 4y agoIt’s MIT licensed. They don’t need to ask. They need to add his name to credits and/or send an email about what they did. It’s basic courtesy (plus MIT license, if you prefer).
- s-macke 4y agoThe games were already playable online on archive.org [1]. My project is just focussed on the old flight simulators. Especially I wanted to have a very light-weight emulator which starts within milliseconds. The major part of the emulator downloads with just 24kB compressed. I suppose I have reached the goal. [1] https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos_games
- Liquix 4y agoNo credit is owed, no thanks are due. This is an unavoidable effect of usuing the MIT license over something like GPL. Andrew Tanenbaum on choosing MIT for the MINIX project, which was used by Intel + the IC as a base for the Intel Management Engine (emphasis mine): "The only thing that would have been nice is that after the project had been finished and the chip deployed, that someone from Intel would have told me, just as a courtesy, that MINIX was now probably the most widely used operating system in the world on x86 computers. That certainly wasn't required in any way, but I think it would have been polite to give me a heads up, that's all." If you'd like to avoid a large company profiting off your work without attribution, don't use MIT.
- rkagerer 4y agoThanks for relaying that ought-to-be canonical example. It may not be owed/due, but common decency suggests you give a heads up. In Intel's case I'm guessing there was a contending motive in that they preferred not to draw attention to it.
- esperent 4y ago> common decency Large companies don't operate according to human social norms like this. It's important to be reminded of this fact from time to time.
- darkwater 4y agoAt some point, no matter how big the company is [1], there are humans redacting, validating and applying the policy. [1] Ok, maybe Google have just bots for this also. ;)
- 0xbadcafebee 4y agoYou can put that clause in your license! Something like: If you use this software in a commercial product, you are required to make an attempt to send me an e-mail letting me know about it, because it's just nice to know. Of course that would piss off the lawyers because now if a developer uses your software and doesn't e-mail you, you could sue them. But it's not like big companies always respect licenses anyway :)
- s-macke 4y agoYes, I was not informed about it. But I think that's fair. I didn't ask them either before I published the project. Please, don't make it a license issue. I developed it for fun.
- runetech 4y agoIn that case - please have more fun ;-) Thank you - I really enjoyed the flashback to my childhood you provided me just now!
- ilyt 4y agoWell, the MIT license worked exactly as it was written.
- low_tech_love 4y agoWhat about "The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software."?
- iso1631 4y agoWere the flight simulators you can play on that github page originally MIT licensed?
- low_tech_love 4y agoNo, but I was just commenting about the license itself. At any rate, this is obviously not a regular thing to begin with.
- int_19h 4y agoMost likely, it is included in some kind of ThirdPartyNotices.txt that ships with the game. It's actually pretty hard to sneak third party F/OSS under the radar in the company of this size - there's automated code scanners, among other things, and while they can't catch everything, they sure can flag a copy of a public project on GitHub.
- nerusskyhigh 4y agoI don't really know the scope of easter eggs, is the whole team supposed to know about them or just the few programmers that introduced them? Maybe they didn't want to spoil the surprise (?) In any case, congratulations to op for having their project reach the original franchise. It's a sign of a job well done!
- inglor 4y agoI work at Microsoft and unfortunately there is a “no Easter eggs” policy but sometimes they sneak by ;)
- robertlagrant 4y agoJust checked, and sadly no X-Clacks-Overhead header on microsoft.com.
- s-macke 4y agoI am grateful to the developer for doing this. This is a kind of hidden communication between fans I enjoy.
- GuB-42 4y agoMaybe Copilot did it ;) That would be appropriate for a flight simulator.
- luch 4y agoMicrosoft is not the developer here, it has been outsourced to a game studio : https://www.asobostudio.com/games/microsoft-flight-simulator https://www.asobostudio.com/games/microsoft-flight-simulator But the remark still stand, and I hope OP has been correctly credited for it.
- Cthulhu_ 4y agoThis is kind of the nature of open source though; I use tons of open source software and libraries every day, also for my clients, without letting the maintainers of the software and libraries know. That said, I do advocate for companies doing financial contributions to open source where possible.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- kube-system 4y agoTo be fair, OP also used Microsoft's project in his game, but didn't bother to let them know.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- collaborative 4y agoNothing to see here. It likely was added by Copilot by simply typing //add cool retro mini-game This is progress
- herpderperator 4y agoGoogling Flight Simulator: > First release: Microsoft Flight Simulator; November 1982; 40 years ago That's wild. I can't believe it's that old.
- mcv 4y ago1982? Was that version already 3D? That's earlier than I thought.
- albuquerque 4y agoPlayed it on my 1982 zx spectrum 32k!
- jmkd 4y agoYou may be thinking of Psion's Flight Simulation game [0] on the ZX Spectrum 48K [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Simulation_(Psion_software) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_Simulation_(Psion_softw...
- TuringTest 4y agoI played it on the 48K. I can't believe there was a version that run on the 16K ZX81 as well!
- albuquerque 4y ago48k of course, not 32k :-)
- midasuni 4y agoRubber keys?
- albuquerque 4y ago
- ajdegol 4y agoWhy can’t I view GitHub on mobile without having to sign in to the app. I don’t want to sign in to the app; I don’t remember my password; I can’t be bothered to authenticate. Bad UX.
- iso1631 4y agoI don't have an app (why would I want an app? I can't imagine pushing changes from my phone), it let me on just fine.
- dewey 4y agoFor me the main point of the app is having a nicer interface to discussions and getting notifications.
- notpushkin 4y agoI did my share of PR reviews from a phone using FastHub-Libre [1] :-) No code changes, although I've fixed a typo in README once I think. [1]: https://f-droid.org/packages/com.fastaccess.github.libre/ https://f-droid.org/packages/com.fastaccess.github.libre/
- CarVac 4y agoI've edited code on mobile plenty of times just using the mobile GitHub webpage. Usually just small tweaks and typo fixes though. I don't see why you would need an app though.
- gillesjacobs 4y agoI agree it's annoying, but you can open links in another tab from the long-press option menu in nearly every mobile browser instead of using app-urls.
- ajdegol 4y agothat's a good tip, thank you
- tibbydudeza 4y agoKudos.
- mdtrooper 4y agoAnd how much did Microsoft pay he? There is a old comic (some years ago) about "paid exposure" of Oatmeal: https://theoatmeal.com/comics/exposure https://theoatmeal.com/comics/exposure
- gattilorenz 4y agoThen… maybe don’t put it on GitHub with a MIT license?
- JakeWesorick 4y agoThey have an open source project they are happy about being included in the current version of the game and you're the one mad about it.
- pjc50 4y agoIt incorporates four copies of Microsoft Flight Simulator, so it's really their IP as well.
- low_tech_punk 4y agoWow! I look forward to playing Microsoft Flight Simulator inside the Emulator inside the Microsoft Flight Simulator on the 80th year anniversary.
- k_sze 4y agoI came here to say the same thing, but I'm gonna be an optimist and say that we'll get it by the 50th anniversary, not the 80th. We'll have MSFS in a form of VR that is not ergonomically awkward so that this is all possible.
- 1letterunixname 4y agoAnd it better be in VR.
- iso1631 4y agoOh lovely, you can switch to the "Gates Learjet" and go for a Manhattan Tour and buzz (and crash) into those tall towers like its 1989
- drummer 4y agoOr like it's 9/11
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- actionfromafar 4y agoAn Easter Egg in Microsoft Flight Simulator? What is it, press a special key combination and a Spreadsheet Software pops up?!
- boudin 4y agoA reference to Excel 97 Easter egg I guess :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gYb5GUs0dM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gYb5GUs0dM
- QuarterReptile 4y agoThe interface is so responsive. What a thing to have lost...
- bspammer 4y agoI felt the same watching that. You can almost feel the complete absence of telemetry.
- bsagdiyev 4y agoThat was a fun one to do in IT class back in secondary school. That and Doom LAN games.
- Avalaxy 4y agoClippy the auto pilot!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- habibur 4y ago> Always when I start a new project I wonder what programming language I should use. Most of the time the requirements are the same. It must be fast, typed and the result must presentable on a website. Especially I would like to keep it as simple as possible. C is usually my language of choice when the logic doesn't get too complicated. Another vote why I should stick with C.
- sesm 4y ago'Typed' as in 'typed on a keyboard'?
- tomalpha 4y agoMore likely this kind of “typed”: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_and_weak_typing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_and_weak_typing Where “typed” here likely implies “strongly typed”.
- Nicksil 4y ago>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_and_weak_typing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_and_weak_typing
- fsloth 4y agoI guess in this case it’s a homonym for both as C is sometimes a bit verbose :D
- s-macke 4y agoExactly, I mean more "strongly typed". The opposite is JavaScript, which is weakly typed. When speed matters and every bit is important, it is a bad idea to write an emulator in a weakly typed language. I have corrected the text.
- forgotpwd16 4y agoC, although statically typed, is considered weakly typed as well.
- erwincoumans 4y agoThat's cool! Like playing classic Doom inside Doom 3. Is there a list of games that let you play older versions from within?
- robert_tweed 4y agoI'm not sure if there's a list, but a notable example of this is Day of the Tentacle, the sequel to Maniac Mansion. In the game there is a computer, which if you interact with it, allows you to play the entire original Maniac Mansion.
- erwincoumans 4y agoFun, didn't know that. I recall both games, Maniac Mansion on C=64. Impossible Mission is the first game I recall with working terminals inside (but those terminals didn't play a full game although it likely could be done).
- enneff 4y agoCeleste lets you play the classic PICO-8 version in a secret room.
- vidarh 4y agoNot older versions of the game itself, but the entire gimmick of Lazy Jones is that you're an employee walking around a building and entering rooms to goof off playing mini-versions of various games on a lot of different computers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7DyoDJCqac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7DyoDJCqac I guess it sort-of doesn't really count, since the "games within the game" are essential parts of the game itself.
- fasterik 4y agoIf I recall, you could play Crash Bandicoot in one of the Uncharted games (both made by Naughty Dog).
- yamtaddle 4y agoUncharted 4: A Thief's End. It's not the whole game, IIRC, but a few levels here and there.
- rbanffy 4y agoI wonder if it could go as far as the 1.0 version by Sublogic (which predates the PC and ran on 8-bit computers such as the Ataris and Apple II's)
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- geocrasher 4y agoHow cool is that! I remember FS4 (and FS5) well, having logged hundreds of hours in FS4 as a kid, and many more unlogged hours. In fact, in the early 90's, I was one of the first people in a Virtual Airline. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_airline_(hobby) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_airline_(hobby) Not just the first VA, but one of the first few people in the VA. I was tasked with "designing" aircraft for use with our VA. When FS5 came out, you could modify the looks as well, so I'd get the flight dynamics as close as I could and another guy would build the model of how it looked. I forget what that package was called, now. But it was a lot of fun. I don't think any of us had an idea that VA's would turn into a Thing. We were just teens having fun :)
- worewood 4y agoI played so much FS4 and was in awe with FS5, having never played a textured 3D game on my PC before. Spent countless hours tuning it so it would be playable on my 486
- geocrasher 4y agoOh man, I remember when I went from a 286/12 with 1MB memory to a new motherboard with a 486/33DX and 4MB memory. What a huge leap!
- nightski 4y agoI wonder how many are in a similar boat. I grew up playing a ton of MSFS, Fly!, Flight Unlimited, Falcon 4, Combat Flight Sim, etc... Every major MSFS version was a huge deal. I remember having a high school event the evening MSFS2k came out and couldn't wait to get home to play it. I was part of a few VAs as well, the community was so nice. One of my first software projects as an optimal flight route planner using publicly available data sets. It was one of the key stepping stones to learning to code in my early days.
- denton-scratch 4y agoI thought Easter eggs had been deprecated years ago; non-functional code, increased bloat, increased attack surface. To link in a complete game emulation as an EE seems - stupid. It's apparently not the OP's fault; he just wrote it, he didn't link it into the product.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- denton-scratch 4y agoI'm fine with being downvoted; I don't post for popularity. But I appreciate it if there's some comment about what I said wrong; like, perhaps my opinion was mistaken, or used inappropriate language, or was off-topic.
- prego_xo 4y agoIf I had to guess, it's probably because most people love a cute easter-egg and this story was someone excited to have had their project noticed and implemented by Microsoft, off whom it was based; and your comment on the matter is that easter-eggs are stupid and outdated. Also, I'm new here: how do you downvote a comment?
- ledauphin 4y agonew users are unable to downvote until they've been commenting for a while.
- denton-scratch 4y agoHeh :-) By not being new here! If you've got 500 points, you see a down arrow next to a post. But I don't like that button; clicking it feels a bit caca.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- JoeDaDude 4y agoAt one time, probably the early 80's when the first clones of the IBM PC came out, being able to run MS Flight Simulator was an indication of a clone's ability to run all other IBM PC software. I remember one clone manufacturer used a screenshot of FS in their ad at the time.
- oso2k 4y agoFS4 was also part of Windows/DOS Test Suite and archived as such in the MS FTP Site. ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Products/Oemtest/v1.1/Winstress/stress/i386/stress/dos/fs4/
- psim1 4y agoThe only key I can't find is the one that controls the toe brakes. Anyone? edit: I found the answer -- period key -- on page 21 of the excellent manual <https://archive.org/details/microsoft-flight-simulator-v-4.0-1989-information-manual-and-flight-handbook-en/page/20/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/microsoft-flight-simulator-v-4.0...>
- rsanaie 4y agoThank you Sebastian for building this game in the first place. Every I'm sitting in an airplane waiting to take off on the runway, it takes me back to my childhood memories. I'm putting myself in the pilot's seat, imagining I'm adjusting the flaps (F7), increasing thrust (F3), and taking the brakes off (.) and we have lift off!
- 1letterunixname 4y agoThe aircraft designer addon for FS4 was a fun one. I recall making some absurd, unrealistic supersonic U-2-shaped planes. Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0 was also interesting.