3DO Doom Source released

The source code for one of the worse port of Doom has been released by the author as well as an explanation why.

Interesting indeed.

github site:
https://github.com/Olde-Skuul/doom3do

Authors notes:
https://github.com/Olde-Skuul/doom3do/blob/master/README.md

Original SlashDot article:
http://games.slashdot.org/story/14/11/30/2342213/doom-3do-source-released-on-github

This is one very interesting development. Can anyone do something with this? Should be something you can do with this source code.

Seriously?

Well... maybe we can have a go ahead and make it not terrible. And how long until PrBoom+ is ported to 3DO using this thing?

I'm also really sad no one ever got those extra levels, weapons and mic features. At least PSX Doom happened, but this is an interpretation that'll never truly be.

I wonder if anything will ever come of this source code being released. Interesting.

More source codes being released is always good. But I'd be more interesting in the SNES Doom code as it was completely different (not a port of id's code; the author, Randy Linden, wrote the entire engine from scratch).

Mshh we already have the music. The only part worth salvaging.

That EXTRAMAP in the wads directory isn't actually accessible in the 3DO version, is it? It's based on a section of E2M5 cut from the Jaguar/other console port based on it. The part with the player start is all new (or I don't recognize it, at least).

I'm not particularly familiar with the original Doom source, but this looks well commented compared to what Carmack and Romero wrote. Most variables and functions have at least some kind of description. It'll be interesting to see if it helps decrypt any of the original rendering code that survived the porting process.

Someone needs to make a DOOM 3DO converter like the 32x converter quick.

This is great, more insight the better, and it's always interesting to read about nightmare projects and the people who survived them.

Some screenshots from the extra map.

Cool. I really wish for the sources to the PSX & N64 Dooms to be released under GPL if it exists. Best Doom ports ever!

The source is workable. I've compiled a binary already. But there is a problem with modifying a REZFILE (WAD). Does anyone knows how to repack it?

Just a shameless plug, but it should be possible to play the maps that come with this source port (in the wads/ directory) with Crispy Doom 2.2. They will look at bit strange, though, due to the missing textures and flats.

Wouldn't this be useful for consoles? Jaguar, 32x, snes, GBA, DS, Vita, etc. Maybe for experimental reference?

I'm making a save game feature now. I've already added the feature: music stops reading from CD when the slider was set to zero.

What's interesting about this release to me is the license - MIT rather than GPL.

Jon said:

What's interesting about this release to me is the license - MIT rather than GPL.

Yeah, that's a little odd - technically I'm sure the author was not allowed to release the source at all, since 1) she didn't own it and 2) it came with all sorts of strings attached. It's very unlikely she somehow negotiated with Bethesda / any other rights holders to release it, and got permission to attach a MIT license to it.

This is quite interesting - like the Jaguar source.

Cool news! Rebecca Heineman (author of this port) will stream Sunday 5PM PST about Doom 3DO.
http://www.twitch.tv/burgerbecky

If the MIT license used in this is considered legal, I wonder if someone will try to implement the 3DO Doom code into something like the Assault Cube engine (much like how the doom code was ported to id tech 5/RAGE engine), using clean-room reverse engineering and attempt to avoid using gpl/dsl'd code, aiming overall for the kind of engine a certain member of the community wanted months/years ago: a FLOSS Doom-based engine with no major restrictions.

Someone should ask her about the licensing thing. Or, y'know, just ask on Twitter or whatever... *does so*

Actually I skipped through the video of her talking about it and she mentioned she had "permission from years ago" to release the source code. Which... suggests it wasn't actually permission from the Zenimax masters?

Well I asked and got kind of a non-answer answer, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Clearly we need somebody to be our sacrificial champion, to go forth and produce the first MIT-licensed DOOM port and distribute it massively. Then one of three things happens:
1. Nobody cares and nothing ever happens, leaving it in a vague state
2. DMCA notices
3. Nothing happens til several years later when it's long past arguable that ZeniMax had reasonable opportunity to object and did not. Of course by then we'll all be wage serfs living under the direct rule of corporate hegemonies (heil TPP/TTIP) so it probably doesn't matter.

Quasar said:

Clearly we need somebody to be our sacrificial champion, to go forth and produce the first MIT-licensed DOOM port and distribute it massively. Then one of three things happens:
1. Nobody cares and nothing ever happens, leaving it in a vague state
2. DMCA notices
3. Nothing happens til several years later when it's long past arguable that ZeniMax had reasonable opportunity to object and did not. Of course by then we'll all be wage serfs living under the direct rule of corporate hegemonies (heil TPP/TTIP) so it probably doesn't matter.

My money is on 1., or "the zdoom principle" as I'd like to call it. Which is why I'm so jumpy about this GLoome thing.

Quasar said:

Clearly we need somebody to be our sacrificial champion, to go forth and produce the first MIT-licensed DOOM port and distribute it massively. Then one of three things happens:
1. Nobody cares and nothing ever happens, leaving it in a vague state
2. DMCA notices
3. Nothing happens til several years later when it's long past arguable that ZeniMax had reasonable opportunity to object and did not. Of course by then we'll all be wage serfs living under the direct rule of corporate hegemonies (heil TPP/TTIP) so it probably doesn't matter.

First of all he must do something to improve this version. )))

That actually seems to clear up a lot to me (but then again I'm a ZDoom dev). She seems to indicate that she got permission to release it, probably pre-zenimax. The game assets are distributed in the same way as iOS Wolf3D. They're there for convenience, but you're not technically allowed to use them unless you own a license (honor system).

So yes you could make an MIT Doom port provided that you don't revert any the modifications to the PC Doom code. Yes, Zenimax could still complain if you distributed a compiled version of the 3DO IWAD.

Of course there is a fourth option as well: don't use any of Heineman's code (I've not heard a lot of good things about most of it to begin with), and only modify an already GPL port to act "mostly" like Jag/3DO, which you can practically do w/o reference to the code anyways (at most it's going to be useful for verifying a few facts, which aren't copyrightable, and you could infer through observation anyway, with some difficulty). Resulting port can just be GPL and won't be controversial at all.

Quasar said:

Of course there is a fourth option as well: don't use any of Heineman's code (I've not heard a lot of good things about most of it to begin with), and only modify an already GPL port to act "mostly" like Jag/3DO, which you can practically do w/o reference to the code anyways (at most it's going to be useful for verifying a few facts, which aren't copyrightable, and you could infer through observation anyway, with some difficulty). Resulting port can just be GPL and won't be controversial at all.

It also occurred to me that if you did want to get the 3DO source off the ground, you are going to need to pull in some ancillary code from somewhere to get it up and running, and it would most likely be from an existing (GPL) port, and (as Gez pointed out earlier) there's no problem mixing BSD and GPL in that direction. So imagine you took chocolate-doom and ported the 3DO into it as another game-type, the net result would be GPL and all the licenses would be adhered to.