AntiMatter_16 on 17/10/2010 at 03:46
I wouldn't say "VERY" long time before something is released. My understanding is that most of the engine is the logic that organizes all the components of the game. Sound and graphics rendering are two components among many many others. Volca probably has the best understanding of the engine of anyone alive though. Perhaps he could say how long it would take to strip out and replace DirectSound and Direct3D components.
And...wow. After hastily reading through all the other replies, I can't believe that the source has actually surfaced, and that Eidos is currently just sitting on it. =( Can we start a letter writing campaign? Who could we send letters to that could get this done, and what information would we need to provide to help expedite the process (e.g. people who currently hold the code at Eidos)?
Yandros on 17/10/2010 at 04:04
I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm, but speaking from direct experience, any letters written to Eidos urging their corporate lawyers to expedite will have no effect whatsoever; they're going to take their time and disregard any pleas from the community to "hurry up". The lawyers at the company I work for are the biggest bottleneck we have when it comes to actually getting anything done.
Thelvyn on 17/10/2010 at 05:18
Re converting source to linux .... I would say that its probably not a simple thing to change over to say opengl.
It all depends on the abstraction level of the code.
lost_soul on 17/10/2010 at 05:34
Well there was the old story of Unreal. It had a plugin-architecture for renderers, allowing new ones to be written and used with the game. At first, glide was king in Unreal, then D3D pushed the visuals even further with 32-bit support. Then the OpenGL renderer got revamped by the community and kicked the D3D renderer's behind, offering HD textures and such. I wonder if you could just write a basic OpenGL renderer for Thief in this way.
Xorak on 17/10/2010 at 05:42
So essentially what could be done with the source code that isn't done now:
Change the inherent abilities of the AI?
Increase map size complexity?
Add what can be manipulated and used by the player?
Eliminate all bugs in the code itself?
Enhance the graphic capabilities of models and AI?
I'm assuming all the above is possible and much more.
AntiMatter_16 on 17/10/2010 at 06:27
@Xorak
Well, if you have enough time, you can do just about anything to any code. =P
@Yandros
What if it was a calligraphy letter campaign? I already have all the supplies. It'd be great to practice my calligraphy every day by writing a letter to some poor sap at Eidos.
Myagi on 17/10/2010 at 14:09
Quote Posted by Xorak
So essentially what could be done with the source code that isn't done now:
...
Eliminate all bugs in the code itself?
Although I suppose that could be covered by the bugs point, but I think the biggest point is just making sure it runs nicely on latest Windows versions (without requiring third party "tricks") aswell a gfx compatibliity to natively solve those things that DDFix does etc.. Simply put, making sure that the game can run for years to come. All enhancements are just a bonus.
TaxAkla on 17/10/2010 at 15:02
The Open Dark Engine, by Volca, has a funcional implementation of the renderer via OGRE3D engine. This part will not be so hard. With full access to the Source Code many more will be possible.
(
http://sourceforge.net/projects/opde/)
New Horizon on 17/10/2010 at 15:27
Oh dear Lord. I've been quoted on Blues News. I didn't see that coming. lol
