I tweeted at them [External Link] a few days ago about GNU/Linux support and middleware, but have been ignored so far.

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I remember Clonk back when it was still a DOS game. Always loved it. <3

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Quoting: sleortHopefully ^this move by nvidia makes the same possible in the opposite way, which would be a nice move from nvidia.

No chance, considering that their license says

(a) use, reproduce, display and perform the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software or portions thereof, internally only solely as a reference for understanding the functionality of the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software and for purposes of developing and integrating such NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software into Demos, Expansion Packs and/or Games, for purposes of distribution as set forth in (c) below;
(b) modify those portions of the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software that are provided in Source Code form solely (i) for purposes of compiling or integrating the same or portions thereof as Object Code into Games, Expansion Packs, and Demos related to same, or (ii) to correct any bugs or errors that You may identify in the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software, each as subject to the further source code modification requirements as set forth below;
(c) distribute the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software (including Source Code Modifications that You make thereto) to third parties who are otherwise separately licensed by NVIDIA to use such NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software and have rights under its license to the same version of the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software that You are distributing, such licensees having the license rights to such distributed Software as outlined in this Section 1.1 herein and for no other purpose; and
(d) reproduce and distribute the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software, in Object Code form only, solely as integrated into inseparable Games, Expansion Packs and Demos on the Windows, Linux, and Android platforms (the “Authorized Platforms”) developed by You that incorporate the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software, subject to certain license procedures for distribution of Games and Demos (including, for PC-based titles, through use of a end user license agreement which explicitly disclaims any representations, warranties, conditions, and liabilities related to the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software), either by You or through Distributors (subject to and as further detailed in Section 1.2 below). For the avoidance of doubt, Your license rights under this Section 1.1(d) do not extend to platforms other than the Authorized Platforms; use of the NVIDIA GameWorks Licensed Software with platforms other than the Authorized Platforms requires entering into a separate commercial license agreement with NVIDIA.

(bolding mine)

I.e. the access to the source code of PhysX is only to integrate it into games, and only on "Authorized Platforms". That's it.

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Quoting: IvancilloSeems a lot of reverse engineering.

Yeah.

Quoting: IvancilloHow much good it is? Which is better?

Frankly, I've never used EDB. I did try OllyDbg a few times in VirtualBox, but it didn't work that well.

Since I'm mostly taking apart DOS games (for ScummVM) and Windows games (for xoreos), I couldn't actually use the debugging capabilities of EDB. Or does it support hooking into winedbg for debugging Windows application running on Linux using wine? IDA theoretically suports that (through a gdb interface), but I couldn't get it to work lately either.

Otherwise, I am pretty content with IDA, but I do have a license, after all, and can therefore use the native Linux version instead of having to run it in Wine.

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Yes, The Witcher is a potential target. Right now, xoreos can read the textures, play music and sound, and read static geometry from the models of The Witcher.

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Yeah, the first campaign of Neverwinter Nights 2 is very meh. The first expansion, Mask of the Betrayer, however is very good. For me, it ranks quite high, close to Planescape: Torment.

Creating modules was harder in NWN2, though, and so the module community didn't take off quite as much as NWN1. Since they used the proprietary middleware FaceFX for lipsync, and BioWare of course couldn't give any information out, people couldn't even create lipsync'd cutscenes like the original campaign did. Instead, they started generating silly random lip flapping.

Harp & Chrysanthemum [External Link] is excellent, I think. Too bad the promised sequel never came.

Dark Waters [External Link], by Adam Miller, the same guy responsible for the classic NWN1 campaigns Shadowlords and Dreamcatcher [External Link], I found disappointing. Especially after the long wait. It was riddled with bad dialogue and cringe-inducing voice acting, but then again I have a low tolerance for bad voice acting.

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Yes, that's the "and derivatives" part of "BioWare's Aurora engine (and derivatives)". :)

Sure there's been a lot of modifications along the way, but the base for each game is similar. If you read the Dragon Age Toolset Wiki [External Link], you'll see similar file formats and concepts. The game is still made up of areas, areas contain objects like placeables, doors and creatures. There's still triggers and the script system is still obviously NWScript-like.

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Yeah, I'm not sure I feel comfortable taking donations for xoreos.

What I would like, in the future [1], is for xoreos to join a non-profit, like the Software Freedom Conservancy [External Link]. The non-profit would hold the project's funds, which a) makes sure they are separate from me personally b) clears up tax problems c) would make donations tax-deductible in the country the non-profit operates in.

Money could then be transparently earmarked for certain things, like server costs, maybe IDA licences, maybe registrating a trademark. Or, on the slim chance there's a big windfall, paying people on a contractual basis to work on xoreos.

This way, donations would be transparent and I wouldn't have to worry about correctly declaring the donations as taxable income. And I think the money going to a non-profit instead of me would create some barrier against legal claims by Electronic Arts, maybe.

[1] The thing is, for a non-profit to consider xoreos as a member project, there needs to be an active and vibrant developer community. While I'm really damn grateful for the people who do work on xoreos with me (seriously, <3 you people), I fear it's not enough yet.

So, if you want to help me, spread the word and get more people to join me. And if you really have money burning a hole into your pocket, please consider donating to the Free Software Foundation [External Link], Software Freedom Conservancy [External Link], Software Freedom Law Center [External Link] or the Electronic Frontier Foundation [External Link]. Those organizations do a lot of things I care about in the realms of FLOSS. Thanks.

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Oh, and of course, for xoreos, I can build upon what other people in the modding communities have already figured out . Really, this is essential, having open communities where information flows freely. I am very grateful for those people.

Unfortunately, not all people in the modding communities see it this way and guard their knowledge with their life. This makes me sad.

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Well, I've been programming since I was 8. I started with GW-BASIC on Novell DOS, in the early 90s. I learned Visual Basic, Delphi, Turbo Pascal, C and C++ later, and I had some contact with assembly (mostly Z80, for the TI-83+ calculator).

As for reverse-engineering / reimplementing, I learned a lot when I joined the ScummVM team in January 2006 and took over the engine for Coktel Vision games [External Link]. I was giving the freeware version of IDA, the partially commented IDA database of Gobliiins, the ScummVM code and the task to reverse engineer Gobliins 2 to add support to ScummVM.

I of course asked a lot of questions, but many thing you just have to figure out for yourself. So I grabbed a copy of the "The Art of Assembly Language" book to get some understanding of the DOS specific stuff, and dug into the disassemblies of Gobliiins and Gobliins 2. It took me half a year until I had some understanding of what Gobliins 2 did, and then lots of fiddling and mistakes. And I was a student then, with a lot of time to waste. Preliminary support was announced in December 2006.

So yeah, lots of privilege due to early contact with programming, and a lot of banging my head against the wall until stuff makes sense. :)

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