[Kiloku]

I'm by no means skilled enough in game development for that, but I think the collective skill on this community might be. I was thinking about what it would be like if we simply banded together and created a space sim from scratch, with all the features in FSO + features that would be impossible for as long as we depend on the original source code. Possibly set up in a way it could read or convert and use Freespace missions, assets and scripts, so we don't lose all this legacy material.

I know that this is waaay into utopia realm, but hey, a man can dream, right?

[niffiwan]

How long do you think it'll take to rewrite the engine from scratch?  Or perhaps, how long did it take to write the original engine & how many people did they have working on it full time?  Then compare that time to the free time that the current SCP members have. I think it'll be a dream for some time yet unfortunately...

[z64555]

For an open source community such as the FSOSCP, it's pretty much impossible to program an entire engine from the ground up, simply because there is a great many bits to the engine.

The main reason this isn't feasible is due, as niffiwan mentioned, to the fact that all of the developers in the SCP can only work on FSO during their free time. They are not financially reimbursed nor commissioned for their contributions, and each developer's motivation varies as there are as many creatures in the Earth's oceans.

There is a branch of the source code called antipodes in which the SCP uses as a testbed for groundbreaking new features, the latest of which is the new pilot code which is currently being primed for the FSO 3.7.0 release. This is perhaps the best way of working with the old engine, by removing the old parts such as the fuel tank and replacing it with new parts such as a fuel cell. Progress is slow, but it allows the FreeSpace community to enjoy the new features as they are implemented, rather than needing to wait several years for a new engine release. Coordination is perhaps one of the things the SCP needs, but I do not claim to be project manager.

If you haven't already, please see the master sticky in this board (here) to see what areas you may be able to contribute. We always welcome fresh blood, especially Carl the Shivan.

[The E]

Yeah, a blind reimplementation of the engine (meaning, an engine that can interpret data for FS2 but does not use any of the code from FS2) is simply not feasible at this time. Back when the source got released, it might have been possible (and an attempt called Ferrum was made), but even then it didn't come together.

[FekLeyrTarg]

Also, take the freeware game "Star Trek: Excalibur" for instance. Its engine is being built from scratch and it has been for about six years.

[Nuke]

anyone remember ferrium? back when the scp was fairly new and coders were still getting used to the mess of spaghetti that was freespace. the idea was to make an engine that could run the stock assets from freespace and other space sims as well. unfortunately it never happened, the scp improved greatly, and kazan got a jerb at ms and probibly doesn't have time to write game engines. i think i still have some texture assets that i made for that project (and a purple, green and black dante).

[Mongoose]

All I remember about Ferrium is wondering why it wasn't called "Ferrum" instead.

[docfu]

When Diaspora was released it used very little of the FSO resources and didn't require the original Freespace to run.

I realize this might be an odd question, but are there any plans to release a base version of the FSO project that doesn't require the retail files to run? Or would that somehow violate the original license somehow?

I guess a better way to phrase the question would be: are the resources contained within the Freespace Port project legally considered Volition/Interplay's because they contain reworked models from the original game?

Or can those remade models be redistributed without having to own retail FS2?

I think it would be a worthwhile idea to have a space sim that can be released for free in the future, even if it's just a barebones kit, that uses the SCP's code but doesn't have the constant threat of a DMCA takedown (like Diaspora.)

I realize a lot of work goes into this project and we owe Volition a lot for what they gave us, but it would be cool to see, for instance, that recent homeworld mod being released as a "shell" project that has it's own menus and doesn't halfway dip into the Freespace universe to run.

[mjn.mixael]

As far as Freespace themed mods go.. they are almost always going to have something from or derivative of the original works of Volition. With that in mind... do not confuse the open source code with the game. The code is free. The game (FS2) is not. All the tables, models, interface, etc. that are a part of FS2 the game, will not be distributed by HLP for free. Upgraded assets are. FSU, currently, has the policy to always require the root files so that we are not handing out free copies of FS2. The MediaVPs will not work without the root FS2 game data.

Now, there is nothing stopping anyone from releasing a space sim that does not rely on the FS2 game files. Diaspora did this, but you were looking for something not under thread of a DMCA. You want something fan-made that does not use any of the original FS2 game data. Wings of Dawn did this. Possibly a few others.