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Myth 2 Server Goes Open Source
iMacGuy writes: "As announced on Bungie.net, the Myth 2 Internet Server will be shutting down on February 15. However, they have released the source code. It runs on Linux currently, and can be ported to Windows, *BSD, and Mac OS X."
I'm rather ambiguous about the open source "movement", but I have to appreciate any company that gives out their products when they no longer are being supported. I've been screwed too many times with products that were truly good, but just a year out of date.
:) ), it simply allows their software to be even better supported. It extends the "shelf-life" of the software - maybe they'll make some money from the $5 bargain bin, even if the company is no longer running the server for the product. It also allows for very quick security fixes, and for playability fixes that usually take weeks to months for companies to implement. I can already invision custom designed servers for different groups.
Hopefully other companies will take bungie.net's lead and release server software as well. In my mind, it can't hurt the company (although some way will probably be pointed out to me
Or this might just be my ever idealistic mind... Til later.
Anyway, Myth II is a gaming environment. Here's the story from the Myth Vault on bungie.net web site, in case it gets
Myth Game Server Open Source
February 7, 2002
By Mordia
Nothing in this world is permanent, and this must also be said of gaming servers. Over the past five years many of you have enjoyed the thrill of playing the Myth games online, as well as experienced the pains of a downed server or a rank reset. Ah! Memories! The time has come, however, to bid farewell to the old and tired Myth II game server.
We are finally and officially closing the doors on the Myth gaming servers for all time. Myth II online's last day will be Friday, February 15.
However, we realize that by doing so we leave a lot of people without a place to call home. So, what we intend to do is give it to you. Any of you who want it. The server that is. On this site you will find downloadable the Myth II metaserver source code. Do with it what you will!
Want to be an admin? Go for it! Want to make your own ranking system? Everything you need to do so is here. Have a yen for a custom WW2 server? You can make it!
This is the raw Myth II metaserver source code, stripped of a few proprietary bits of code, but still run-able. You can modify it in any way you want and use it for most anything you want. The only real conditions are that you don't then try to sell it and that you leave all the copyright and other legal notices with the code. Be sure to read the short, but very legal license agreement that comes with it before going nuts, but afterwards, go nuts.
The Myth Vault site will serve as a central location for the Myth game server development community, with a forum for people interested in discussing the code and the possibilities. In the future this site may also offer links to fan run servers, leader boards, order databases, whatever--that's all up to you.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
It's really too bad the Open Source trademark was rejected, because tactics like this lead to a lot of genuine confusion about what open source software really means.
...and can be ported to Windows, *BSD, and Mac OS X.
hell, why stop there? i've always wanted a Myth 2 server that'd run through my hotsync cradle, or, alternatively, through my official sega broadband adaptor.
Isn't Bungie a fully owned subsidiary of M$? I wonder if the Bungie folks consulted their masters, and if they did, does this portend a possible softening of M$'s hard line against Open Source? There's more to this, I feel it (whether this is a nod to Open Source from M$, or if this will be followed by a reigning in of Bungie's autonomy, I don't know).
BlackGriffen
Ironically enough, the literal content of your post is correct. It's not true. The code is being released, but not, as the headline claims, as open source.
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Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
An alternative to bungie.net for both Myth and Myth II has existed for a few months now via mariusnet. Marius did a great job reverse engineering the b.net protocol during the days of closed source while b.net began to falter. The site has quick and easy instructions on how to redirect your Myth app to the marius.net server.
mh
If you read the license you'll find that the code is licensed for "non-commercial purposes only", so it's not open source in the sense of the OSD.
I'd rather have them publish the source code than not, but I'm disappointed that it's mislabeled as an "open source" release, when it's not.
Note that this isn't Myth II itself, but the metaserver, which allows people's copies of the game to find each other and negotiate games.
This doesn't mean they're opening the Myth II engine; it just means that when bungie.net isn't running a Myth II server, people who want to play online can still do so.
Myth 2 (and it's predecessor Myth 1) is a great game. I make sure to use "is" as opposed to "was" simply because it was groundbreaking in truly unique way. Tactical battle in Myth 2 is something that has never been equaled in another game, IMHO. Myth brought the idea that unit positioning matters, and that's something that's rare to see in RTS games.
:D
If your soldier is right up against an enemy, and you have another soldier behind him, he can't do squat in terms of attack -- he's got to walk around. Team formation is something that is thus extremely important for success in this game. Most RTS that I've played haven't exactly figured this out yet, and just how much fun it is. True, it's kind of a pain, but once you've gotten over the learning curve, it starts to make sense "which general should win" given the tactics s/he uses.
The use of land formations was revolutionary for its time. "High ground" really meant something in terms of firing range. Your dwarves can fire almost the entire screen length if they're tossing into a valley. Your archers start to look pretty good, too.
And then there was the idea of veterans. This was pretty cool. Essentially, you'd get "your team" from the last battle (if you'd won), and they'd get shields for each of their kills. The more shields, the more accurate they'd be when killing again. Of course, the "newbies" are hilarious (and frustrating, too): sometimes, you'd get a dwarf that would desimate (sp) his entire team by chucking a grenade straight up! LOL
I never got particularly good at multiplayer Myth, because I came into the scene about a year after the game had been released; instead, I contented myself by beating other newbies.
I haven't tried Myth 3 either, so I can't speak for it. Myth 2 is a great game. If you can find it for $10, give it a go -- it's worth it.
(I don't work for Bungie, I'm just a big fan.)
Yes, Microsoft owns Bungie. No, Micorosoft does not normally release their source code. Yes, Myth II's server runs on Linux.
Am I missing something? I ask because I fail to see the dilemma, or surprise, or whatever it is that has people hot and bothered in this situation.
First off, Microsoft does not immediately impose a Win32 regime on companies it acquires. They do not operate on their image, or on a basis of "we hate Open Source and Linux." They operate for profit, and killing software that's already been implemented simply to show off that they don't need Linux or Open Source is not profitable. MS acquired Hotmail a long time ago IIRC, and they're still dependent on FreeBSD servers for some of it. Bungie wrote their server for Linux (whether before or after they were acquired by MS) and there is no point in forcing them to develop it for Windows instead. Also, the fact that Bungie has given away the code to that server does not imply that Microsoft is "embracing" Open Source, it simply means that someone decided keeping the official servers up was too expensive, but that it would be shitty to just cut people off, and that releasing the source code could only make profits go up (see the bargain bin thing in another post). I'm sure Microsoft has no problem with anything that does not cut into profit and could potentially increase it.
The argument that could be made is that image does indeed affect people's esteem of and confidence in MS, but in this case we're not dealing with MS directly but a subsidiary company. Bungie releasing source code does not hurt MS's ego. If MS released the code to FrontPage or WinXP, that would be different... but they haven't.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
They don't claim that it's Open Source. It's the Slashdot author, iMacGuy, who was careless in his choice of headlines.
Unfortunately, "Open Source" was a crappy certification mark in the first place, because it's too descriptive.
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
Second of all, even if the mislabeling is only in the slashdot headline, I still have a legitimate case that labeling this software "open source" is incorrect. This is not like hacker vs. cracker where a minority is trying to redefine a term from the majority. The term open source was popularized by OSI and most people, when they see "open source", do think of the OSI meaning.
So, for anyone, slashdot editor or Microsoft, to mislabel this software as "open source" is misleading, whether intentional or not.