193 réponses à ce sujet

[Tolen]

Source code, I say, as this game has become heavily supported by the community right now.

[Amphibious Bagel]

My vote preference is:

1) Release the Source Code.
My reasons and sentiments echo those of others, in that I feel that if we as a community could get a hand on the source code (I would LOVE to see it made into an Open Source project), then people like Skywing etc. who have dedicated so much time to picking apart the game could do wonders with it. The downside to this is that it becomes a departure from the original game, so much so that it becomes a new game in its own right. This would require a huge community effort in terms of setting up a website and maintaining it; ideally, I picture that this would be something similar to the Blender opensource program community where you've got a central website through which to get base program updates, and can search tools and addons that others have designed for it.

The question is, would Atari etc. really be willing to release the Source Code to us? 'Cause if so, then by golly...someone start looking into setting up NWN2 to handle 8-bit alpha graphics. I want transparency gradation! No more of this outdated 1-bit stuff! (Lamentably, glow/illumination maps are as far as I can tell the only files that handle that kind of transparency on the Texture file level, much to my sadness.)

2) Release a final hurrah patch.
So yes, this would be in my opinion the next best thing to getting the Source Code. Not nearly as versatile or complete, but if legal issues make the first option impossible, then we may as well pray for this instead. (And maybe beg them to consider letting our community contributors help them by providing the fixes we've already done so that they can be consolidated for the community.)

[kamal_]

Amphibious Bagel wrote...
 I want transparency gradation! No more of this outdated 1-bit stuff! (Lamentably, glow/illumination maps are as far as I can tell the only files that handle that kind of transparency on the Texture file level, much to my sadness.)

NWN2 has always been able to proper transparency: here

They left the community though.

[adamb999]

Guess I'm late to this discussion...

My vote would be to release the source code, but with one caveat.  Open source the entire project and make it available to all.  Let the gurus mentioned in the original post be the maintainers of the trunk of the source tree, but give everyone the ability to view it.  Start up a bugzilla to handle problems as they are reported and handle them as a community of developers.  This would mean there would be an army of individuals looking for ways to fix the defects we've been using the extender and scripting language to work around.  Treating it like any other open source project would mean fast development and quick fixes for problems. 

If we go the 1.24 patch route, it is almost certain that not all bugs would be handled.  The list of outstanding defects in the game are too long for me to be confident that they would be all addressed in one patch (without introducing new defects).  We saw this with each patch that has come out, with people complaining that this or that was not addressed, and I see no reason this would not be the case with a "last great patch".

Open source the entire project and no one can complain (although I'm sure they will find a way).

[Promethean 47]

I'd prefer to see source code released. Honestly, I'd prefer for skywing and co. to make use of the free release of cryengine or unreal 3.0 to make a DM client for those engines. Anything would be good.

[Shadowmere623]

Source code

[ghowriter]

I vote source code, but not to only select individuals. Either make is publically available for all or none.

[Lance Botelle]

Hi,

This may be a silly question, but why would having one exclude the other? I mean the primary choice would be to have the source code, but if there has been a patch made already, then why not release that as well?

This may have already been answered in the previous pages, if so, I apologise.

EDIT: OK, having read through some more of the responses, I can see why there may be apprehension. However, I still believe having access to both (if possible) is still the preferable choice. Worse case scenario, some modules may request "not to patch" in fear of breaking anything already done, but I imagine if a "revert patch" facility was included, then there shouldn't be any real concerns.

Lance.

Modifié par Lance Botelle, 08 octobre 2011 - 07:41 .

[AlisdairMAgain]

I'm going to throw in a late vote for the patch. There is an official distribution mechanism for it that will be used far more widely than the community that visits these boards. While I am all in favor of seeking the best of both worlds (incorporate existing community work in official patch, some kind of source-code access for the active community maintainers) I have a very selfish interest as an occasional offline player, never online, and I want a 'trusted' update through the official channels - and I suspect (but cannot prove) I am not alone. The traffic on these NGs is but a tiny fraction of the players of this game - although clearly it does represent some of the most active players.

[Baragg]

Patch. Better late than never.

[dunniteowl]

Just a quick note to say, October is generally the fiscal end of year (which also means it's the fiscal beginning as well) for most companies and corporations. This series of answers is going to be looked through, then I will be considering the different positions, their merits and the potential to 'sell' them as viable paths to future sales and goodwill to all those who might have a stake in seeing a finalized patch, source code released (in whatever way) or hopefully, both in some fashion.

Expect to see some concrete examples posted for critique and review by the end of the month.

dunniteowl

[taltamir]

Source code.
Obisidian is an awesome company with awesome guys, they really care about their games.

To the nay sayers concerned about how source code will "fracture the community" and "without control result in horribad patches"...
Well, then nobody is going to use and or download those projects. There will be some individuals who go on like that but most people will band together in a sensible manner and produce the best quality work, which will then be the one universally used.

[Vetril]

Public source code. No reason to restrict its access. There's plenty of people around that can program, not just the community gurus.

[-Semper-]

Vetril wrote...

Public source code. No reason to restrict its access. There's plenty of people around that can program, not just the community gurus.

there's code from 3rd party middleware included which ain't ip from obsidian. they can't release it to the public. if there ever will be a release of the source code there have to be lots of negotiations with all the involved developers securing their rights. if any, access to this code can only be granted to a handful of people under tight nda.

from a business viewpoint the whole story costs time, money and ain't worth the effort for a 5 year old game... sadly.

Modifié par -Semper-, 15 octobre 2011 - 11:58 .

[Fester Pot]

Patch as the source code will never be handed over.

FP!

[Deus of the Apocalypse]

I vote for both. Simply because getting the source code is "about as easy" as "copy & pasting" & packing all the files into a single, compressed file, (similar). The patch would take longer to modify & compile, making it less likely that we'd see a "fix all", final patch... but here's hoping. I agree with the rest on here, though, (for most of the same reasons), that getting the source code would be my first pick, if nothing else, (then, one of the more savvy developers might be able to create an unofficial patch).

- DotA

** Edit **
Corrected a couple of typos 

Modifié par Deus of the Apocalypse, 18 octobre 2011 - 06:38 .

[I_Raps]

Deus of the Apocalypse wrote...
Corrected a couple of typos 

... and changed your Avatar, no?

[Armedblade]

I say without a doubt source code, but if a patch is the only viable option then I think the patch should focus on opening up as many hardcoded mechanics as possible so that they can be fixed and/or changed. I think it'd also be beneficial if they take another look at maximizing performance.

[Primalrose]

Agree with Armedblade. The talented members of the community have proven how amazing they are and the sourcecode in the right hands will give the NWN2 toolset the shine it deserves and needs, no to mention make NWN2 community as a whole truly thrive long-term. 

Modifié par Primalrose, 20 octobre 2011 - 08:12 .

[Yves Adele Harlow]

Source code.

[ItzzNinja]

Combination of both.

Fix that nasty renderer bug that causes the game to not render any tiles and release the toolset code so people can add to it and improve it.

But a full source release would be even MORE awesome! Hell, the community could make an open-source NWN3, and with better coders (no offense to Obsidian, I know they mean well, but their code hasn't the best track record to say the least), we'd have less game-breaking bugs like the aforementioned renderer glitch.

Of course, this is probably a pipe dream, but it'd still be awesome to see happen!

Modifié par ItzzNinja, 28 octobre 2011 - 03:13 .

[Cygnus Xone]

Sorry for such a noob question - Is there a comprehensive list anywhere of all the known bugs in the latest revision? I'm really only concerned about bugs that affect game play as a player, such as feats or skills that do not work, so that I can plan for it or maybe find a work around.

Modifié par Cygnus Xone, 28 octobre 2011 - 02:44 .

[painofdungeoneternal]

Cygnus Xone wrote...

Sorry for such a noob question - Is there a comprehensive list anywhere of all the known bugs in the latest revision? I'm really only concerned about bugs that affect game play as a player, such as feats or skills that do not work, so that I can plan for it or maybe find a work around.

I don't think anything like that is maintained, generally the community attacks any issues they find and figures out work around or fixes. If you use kaedrins content you will sidestep a lot of issues, so just using the latest version of his project will do wonders for your experience ( same with kaldors and tonyk's projects ). I have had personal lists, but for the most part between NWNx, skywing, and my own fixes, and what kaedrin has done, my personal list of remaining bugs will be of no benefit to players.

[Shatterbrain]

Source code, source code, source code.

What with Atari publishing Cryptic's Pay-2-Win MMORPG 'Neverwinter', I find that unlikely to happen.

I noticed the Plan 9 site is down. Is the project dead?

[kamal_]

Shatterbrain wrote...

Source code, source code, source code.

What with Atari publishing Cryptic's Pay-2-Win MMORPG 'Neverwinter', I find that unlikely to happen.

I noticed the Plan 9 site is down. Is the project dead?

The project isn't dead. The site is temporarily dead (it will probably wind up moved).