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Tux Racer 1.0 To Be Closed Source, Windows Only
rubberpaw (J. Nathan Matias) writes: "Sunspire Studios is going to release Tux Racer 1.0 as a closed source, commercial product. Tux Racer is the Free Software community's premier 3d game, and I only found out about the future closed-source release in emails from Sunspire. They are following the procedures of relicensing allowed from the GPL, so everything is legal. In response to this, I have started a project called Open Racer whose purpose is to continue development of the GPL Tux Racer. Sunspire is ok (and, I believe, happy) with everything so long as the project doesn't go into direct competition with Tux Racer 1.0. It's my goal to develop the project in a different direction in accordance with Sunspire's wishes, but I'm still looking for ideas at this point." See this Newsforge story for more details.Update: 08/02 09:55 PM by T : According to the Sunspire site, the eventual retail version of Tux Racer will have binary versions for Windows and Linux, "(and most likely the Macintosh)." The OEM version in the works, however, is presently Windows-only.
Matias writes: "Sunspire is ok (and, I believe, happy) with everything so long as the project doesn't go into direct competition with Tux Racer 1.0. It's my goal to develop the project in a different direction in accordance with Sunspire's wishes, but I'm still looking for ideas at this point."
Also, he's looking for a new maintainer -- if this project grabs your attention, pop him an email.
"XXXX To be Windows-Only" means "we read like the first couple lines of the article and assumed it was Windows-only, or we didn't read it at all and trusted the summary from the submitter."
On a related note, "XXXX using GPLed code in closed-source application" means "we looked at the first couple paragraphs of the website, didn't see a source RPM, and decided there was no source code."
Also, "Amiga OS 4.0 released," "Apple regains marketshare," or "story that was posted yesterday reposted today" usually means "Rob Malda smokes crack".
- A.P.
--
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Think about it...work on your product, release it under the GPL, get suggestions, feedback from your target clients, bug testing galore all for free, maybe even some documentation. (Not likely much code since that would make closing it difficult)
Take all of that benefit that you got from having the community show you good will because you're releasing GPL'd software, close the software, stick in a few things people can't get with the last version that was GPL'd, and release the software closed and make money off of it.
Of course it's legal. But I don't know about ethical. Well at least they got a hell of a QA department for free.
-- Truth goes out the door when rumor comes innuendo. -- Groucho Marx
If you read the second comment on the newforge site, the author of tux racer (i think that is who) posted that they fully intend to supply a linux version. They are claiming that their OEM is Windows Only. I don't know if that is a tatic to keep us from getting angry or if he really means it. Sounds like whoever wrote the story slanted it and forgot to mention Sunspire's Linux intentions.
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Kinda ironic that a game about the Linux "mascot" doesn't even run on Linux...
prosebeforehos.com
From the Open Racer site:
// EvilJohn
// Java Geek
"Unfortunately, SunSpire Studios, for whom Jasmin now works, has decided to make a commercial version based on the Tux Racer 0.6.1 version of Tux Racer. This is perfectly legal and acceptable according to the terms of the GPL, since Jasmin is the original licenser and has the authority to relicense his program."
Can someone more familar with the GPL than myself explain how this works? The source released under the GPL is still GPL'd, but his private fork can be closed source (because he is the original licenser)?
Less Talk, More Beer.
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Arbitrary joystick axes can be mapped to Tux controls (thanks to Julie Brandon for suggestion and patch).
- Fixed some 32-bit-isms to allow compiling on 64-bit machines (like Alphas); thanks to Jay Estabrook for the patch.
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Darrell Walisser has ported Tux Racer to the Mac! We've placed a link in the Downloads section. Thanks Darrell!
- I believe that this makes Tux Racer the first open-source game to feature adaptive LOD terrain. Many thanks to Thatcher Ulrich, whose code was used (see Thatcher's excellent Gamasutra article for a description of the algorithm and a link to the demo code).
- Matt Majka has ported Tux Racer 0.61 to Mac OS X.
I also found this news item interesting..Linus Torvalds has decided to maintain the Linux kernel in a closed bombshell bunker, without releasing the source to anyone. We have started the project OpenLinus, which is trying to clone Linus from various Linus memorabilia in order to keep the GPL development going. Real Linus is fine with OpenLinus as long as the later does not impersonate the former.
I was thinking of how to intentionally fail my drug test... It would make a good memoir story someday.
Hey! Drop the whole OpenRacer junk, get Tux off his belly, up onto his fins, and on a snowboard! Take the TuxRacer code and do it, or pull out and retweak the TTPAQFH code (which I think is where TuxRacer originally came from). Throw some cool sunglasses on our favorite friend - take it and run!
Worldcom - Generation Duh!
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
It seems like whenever a project becomed GPLed, the name is changed slightly from the original to include the word open, making it totally non-descript. While I will admit that the Star in StarOffice really had nothing to do with the product, Tux Racer says it all. Changing the name to Open Racer says nothing about the software and makes it sound so...plain. Would they be willing to accept suggetions for a different name for the GPLed branch, and does anyone have any good ideas?
Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru?
Simple answer, if I understand the GPL correctly, is that he cannot include user patches to the GPL'ed code into non-GPL'ed code unless they assigned their copyrights to him (unlikely to have happened) or otherwise explicitly/implicitly gave him control of it (dicey), or he implemented outside suggestions by writing his OWN code that is not a derivative work of others' patches (the most probable case, and VERY dicey, but likely unenforceable, especially if the others didn't clearly mark their contributions as GPLed). The critical point in the last case is whether the original developer did or didn't incorporate actual code written by others. The typical case of a user submitting a report that "there's a bug in line XXX of module YYY that should do Z but does Q" would likely not cause GPL trouble of this kind. I doubt this would be an obstacle in practice, but one never knows...
"My strength is as the strength of ten men, for I am wired to the eyeballs on espresso."
They aren't stopping the linux version. They are however going away from the GPL at least for the initial realease. From the Tux Racer website:
Tux Racer is NOT Windows-only
Thursday, August 2, 2001
Despite what some (very misleading) news articles have recently reported, the retail version of Tux Racer will be released for both Linux and Windows (and most likely the Macintosh); the binaries for all versions will be in the same box. Don't believe the hype!
These news articles are referring to an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deal which is in the works, which (although the details have not been finalized) is for Windows only. Getting a Linux version added onto the OEM CD is something that we have considered and will try to do. The only obstacle to this is the fact that our OEM agent only supports Windows products. We will keep you posted.
Further, to clarify: while we will not initially release the source code to version 1.0 under the GPL (this is simply not an option for us in the commercial game market), we do intend to do so some time after the initial release.
Now I don't have to reboot to linux to play games! .... oh wait a minute. /. users hate Windows or think Microsoft is out to get them!
____________________
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Prevent linux based DDOS's!
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Well if this spin off project did go into direct competition with Tux Racer WTF could he do? Honestly? The code that was released under the GPL will always be under the GPL and you can make it go into competition with the proprietary version. In fact the GPL version would have more claim to the name "Tux" than the other. I think it would be a cool thing if the free (as in speech) version cloberd the closed version.
Molog
So Linus, what are we doing tonight?
So Linus, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night Tux. Try to take over the world!
Ok, since like 1/3rd of the comments have been from people who read the story, and assumed it was correct, from the TuxRacer.com front page:
Despite what some (very misleading) news articles have recently reported, the retail version of Tux Racer will be released for both Linux and Windows (and most likely the Macintosh); the binaries for all versions will be on the same CD. Don't believe the hype!
These news articles are referring to an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) deal which is in the works, which (although the details have not been finalized) is for Windows only. Getting a Linux version added onto the OEM CD is something that we have considered and will try to do. The only obstacle to this is the fact that our OEM agent only supports Windows products. We will keep you posted.
All is cool here.
As for respecting thier wishes on an Open Source version of TuxRacer - why shouldn't he? He talked with them, told them what up, and they would prefer not to have to complete with a free game that is identical. Gee, seems reasonable to me - if someone gave me the opportunity to say if I had to compete against a free product or not, I'd sure be quick to say I'd like the free product to have a different direction than mine. Why, as a commercial developer, would you ENCOURAGE someone to write a completely free version of the game you are trying to sell on shelves and OEM bundles?
Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr - looking for something to read? Check out my three free novels at MidnightRyder.org
Seriously... the article doesn't say they don't want to closed-source release for Windows only... it says they have no OEM retailers to ship a linux version. They _did_ say they will want to eventually GPL it, as well as ship a CD with Windows, Mac, and Linux ports. Read, people, read!
-- Is "Sig" copyrighted by www.sig.com?
I mean, just who do they expect to buy this?
Windows users looking for a good Linux oriented game?
Linux users who have the open version?
I don't get it.
KFG
Read the article. They said that the problem is the OEM company doesn't want to support the Linux version - their trying to get the Linux version included in the boxed set, or even on the same CD. So, not only will there be a Linux version, but nearly everyone who buys the game will have it.
I find it very insulting that they are using the Linux mascot.
Perhaps they could call it WinRacer: "Ski the Windows logo into the pits of hell while collecting small companies along the way!" Yay!
Why bother keeping with their wishes in mind? If they want to go proprietary, so be it, but why listen to them? They are he ones that are forcing YOU to continue the project. I think its best to view projects that have been taken proprietary like this as orphaned projects, that same as any other orphaned projects. Jsut my two cents.
Okay, let's analyze this. You're forking an freely available open source game whose plot is basically a penguin sliding down a ski slope. How can this possibly not compete with a commercial game with the same exact concept and practically identical code plus a few new pixmaps as additional characters? Can someone explain this to me, I've obviously missed something.
there are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
I was surprised and a little upset when I saw they wrote their own title.
My original title merely indicated that Tux Racer 1.0 was going to be closed source and that I would be working on the GPLed codebase in an effort to make a derivative.
I hope you can get the Linux version out there. As I have stated before to you. I really hope that the commercial version meets as much success as possible.
It is sad that geeks, who should be those with the highest level of scholarism should be so quick to twist things to fit the mold of bias. I am sorry for any damage this may have done to sunspire; it was not my intention.
My goal in saving tux racer is to save tux racer, not to compete with sunspire and get into an Xemacs vs Emacs, ssh vs openssh, etc war. The best way I saw of doing that was to attempt to develop in a different direction. Furthermore, Sunspire _does_ have 0.61 as an open source version. If I competed with them, they could leverage their marketing head-start against me, killing the Open Racer project. As it lies now, Sunspire has agreed to link to the Open Racer site from the Tux Racer site, which gives me the advantage of having their head-start in publicity. I have no intention to compete with Sunspire. I couldn't do so even if I wanted to. They have a head start of several programmers coding for six months. I have one programmer (myself), who can throw maybe an hour or two every week. Again, if anyone is interested with ideas, or suggestions, or anyone wants to code or do artwork, let me know at my email address.
if you don't like Tux, the 1.0 release will be more politically correct. Sunspire is adding other little critters, including a seal, a polar bear, and a female penguin.
Yes, having a female penguin falling down a mountain and hitting obstacles sounds far more politically correct than a male penguin. And from the user's point of view, wouldn't you almost be forced to look up her skirt?
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Developers: We can use your help.
I'd like to reassure everyone that we have not abandoned the Linux version. The Linux and Windows versions are at the exact same stage of development. We fully intend to release the retail Linux version of Tux Racer at the same time as the retail Windows version; in fact they will be in the same box.
The final details of the OEM deal have not been finalized. Getting a Linux version added onto the CD is something that we have considered and will try to do. The only obstacle to this is the fact that our OEM agent only supports Windows products. We will keep you posted.
Jasmin Patry, Lead Programmer, Tux Racer