Simple question really. Should I bother releasing the source code to the RPG I am working on or not?
I was considering making it open source. But not only do I not know how to do this effectively (no idea what an SVN is or how to set one up), but I doubt there is enough interest in the game for anyone to care either way. I'm also not good at organizing stuff.
Which brings me to the issue I am having... Do people at BYOND even care anymore?
You get lots of people on BYOND who like to talk it up, they like to tell people to do stuff and make all sorts of silly statements and claims (you know, "make games", "don't rip", "herp this", "derp that" "bladeblahblah"). These same people wont do anything at all. They cannot even be bothered to support games or people making those games. Hell, they rarely seem active in any of the BYOND communities, outside of telling people what they should and should not do.
Which is the issue I am having. Is there really any point in attempting to help the BYOND community? They wont help themselves, they wont help others, and when offering them help, I've seen rocks with more lively responses.
Man... You guys are depressing as hell. The more I think about you guys, the less I want to do anything.
ID:98942
 Jul 20 2010, 3:04 pm
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Jul 20 2010, 3:09 pm
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BxS0ldi3R
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If you truly want to, I'd have to say yes. People can always learn a thing or two from open sources done right.
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Wait, you want people to tell you what to do, and you then follow that up with saying all we do is tell people what to do?
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inb4moredramacomesbyfornoreason
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Don't do it man, don't do it.
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yes i ned it , cause ill make RPG2 i'll give u gm also if u cum bak and code for it agen
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I think you should do it for the sake of doing it.
(Sake - cause, account, interest, or benefit) Not the alcoholic beverage made from rice. | |
Do it, unless your source code sucks.
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Making a game open source has a few benefits:
1. People can make updates to your game. 2. People can take your source code and develop their own game. 3. People can finish the project if you don't. #1 is not likely to happen unless you have a lot of players. A small percentage of the people who play the game will know how to program. A small percentage of them will know how to program well enough to make an update. A small percentage of them will care enough to bother making an update. For the same reason #3 isn't likely either. #2 is more likely, but isn't necessarily a good thing. Your game exists, why do we need another like it? If your game is novel in some way (ex: it's a sidescroller, and BYOND has few sidescrollers) then it could be beneficial, but if it's a traditional RPG then there isn't much reason to make it open source. If there is some aspect of your game that is novel, you'd be better off making a demo/tutorial to showcase this aspect of the game. This way people can incorporate these ideas into their original game, instead of re-using these ideas in a clone of your game. | |
Forum_account wrote:
#1 is not likely to happen unless you have a lot of players. A small percentage of the people who play the game will know how to program. A small percentage of them will know how to program well enough to make an update. A small percentage of them will care enough to bother making an update. For the same reason #3 isn't likely either. This is pretty much the problem with BYOND. No one is interested in anything. At least not enough to do anything about that interest. #2 is more likely, but isn't necessarily a good thing. Your game exists, why do we need another like it? If your game is novel in some way (ex: it's a sidescroller, and BYOND has few sidescrollers) then it could be beneficial, but if it's a traditional RPG then there isn't much reason to make it open source. Just exactly how many open source RPGs does BYOND have (I'd go as far as to say, how many good RPGs does BYOND have?). Even among those RPGs, how many are the same? And among those, how many have a decently written, easy to read, fully commented source code? That is also easy to modify and use? http://www.byond.com/members/TheMagicMan/files/ORPG3_src.zip That is the exact same code I am using (with a few bug fixes), only I have added stuff and content to it to make it a RPG. It's definitely not the best coding ever, but it's a lot better than most source codes you'll find around BYOND. | |
If you want to, then do it. If you don't, then don't.
People worry too much about what everyone else thinks before doing stuff round here. What you want to do should be important for you. | |
People like Airjoe and Andriod Data are experienced with setting up SVN (for others) and have offered to do something like that on various occasions, so that shouldn't hold you back. I'm convinced that they'd lend you a hand.
I think you're going to reach a bigger audience (though maybe less versatile when it comes to programming, they might make up for that through determination and the spirit you miss) if you just release it on a hub compiled so others can see and download the source code. Add a BYOND based forum to the mix, and everybody on BYOND can program and suggest away without messing up anything or learning/downloading/registering anything new. | |
I tried to make an open sourced RPG on BYOND. I got a few weeks into it and got bored and the project died before it lived. I like the concept though. A solid RPG open to all to improve, even if the only one actually touching the source is probably you.
And if you give it an open sourced license there would be no such thing as "ripping" except for license violation. My original concept was to design it so almost all settings were loaded out of simple to edit .ini and .xml files. People could run their own server with custom items and maps without even going into the source. | |