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Classic Shooters Heretic and Hexen Released Under GPL

Posted by Soulskill on from the giblets-want-to-be-free dept.

phanboy_iv writes "Fans of both of the Raven classics, Heretic and Hexen, have been trying for almost a decade to convince Raven Software to release engine source code for the games under the GPL, much like the DOOM engine on which both of them are based. Well, they finally did it! Source code is available at Sourceforge. Both of these games have had the source available for a while, but under a restrictive license that hindered ports and modifications. Now, thanks to dedicated fans, that's no longer a problem."

6 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Not needed anymore? by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I thought some of the Doom engines out there supported both of those already.

  2. just the source? by larry+bagina · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I didn't see it mentioned -- does this include the WAD (as in Johnny Wad) files? I think it's good that they released the source code in the first place, and even better that it's now under a standard license... but is it really useful for anything? Anyhow, thanks guys!

    --
    Do you even lift?

    These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.

    1. Re:just the source? by Awptimus+Prime · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Isn't that a booger?

      Being around a few open projects, I've seen more artists demand proprietary licensing for their art work and content, often things they spent a few hours on. Making certain it will never be "free".

      Then, there's coders who poured months of sleepless nights working difficult bugs out of their complicated engine, then hand it out for the community to learn from. Often without a second though.

  3. Re:And the result... by Psychotria · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I think some of us may be interested anyway.

    A bit of additional info is that the source code for both heretic and hexen are missing the sound libray... From the sourceforge page:

    The DMX sound library is not included with the source due to license issues, so you won't be able to link until those sound calls are replaced or removed.

  4. Don't be so dismissive... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    These are still good things to learn from.

    And who knows if they had some clever tricks in them that have been forgotten? I still remember that fast inverse square root function ...

  5. How I became a programmer, by accident by Shaleh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My sucking at this and other FPS games is what lead me to becoming a programmer. Hex editing binaries, cheat patches, etc. led me to open source and hacking.

    So yeah these are old news now, but there is some serious nostalgia for some us.