CoyoteComrade Posted February 15, 2018 Steam notwithstanding, is a game that hasn't been updated since the mid 90s abandoned? 0 Share this post Link to post
Catpho Posted February 15, 2018 (edited) No,cause doom was released in 12/1993,and will only end its copyright after 75-90 years(us laws)(and might be renewed further after that) 0 Share this post Link to post
Diabolución Posted February 15, 2018 Short answer: No. Long answer: No, it isn’t. 24 Share this post Link to post
Vorpal Posted February 15, 2018 13 minutes ago, Error-404 said: hasn't been updated since the mid 90s Oh 1 Share this post Link to post
Arctangent Posted February 15, 2018 Abandonware is most correctly defined as "games that are illegal to distribute for free, but the people who hold the rights to it don't care enough to crack down on it." It's not actually a legal distinction. Which is to say, a game that is still being sold by its original distributor and likely will be for years to come is as far, far, far as you can get from abandonware. Age has absolutely nothing to do with it. 11 Share this post Link to post
snapshot Posted February 15, 2018 It's not abandonware until the developer stops distributing it, this includes digital stores. 0 Share this post Link to post
Arctangent Posted February 15, 2018 5 minutes ago, dmg_64 said: It's not abandonware until the developer stops distributing it, this includes digital stores. This is completely wrong; a developer that is no long distributing a product can still legally fight against the piracy of their product. Even if that's still the case for the closest thing to "true abandonware," it's really a matter of the chances that they will. But them no longer distributing a product does not mean they won't still keep on the look-out of piracy. 0 Share this post Link to post
CoyoteComrade Posted February 15, 2018 Thanks guys. I was joking around about pirating doom. Guess I did actually? Oopsies 0 Share this post Link to post
snapshot Posted February 15, 2018 9 minutes ago, Arctangent said: a developer that is no long distributing a product can still legally fight against the piracy of their product. That doesn't make it not abandonware. 0 Share this post Link to post
Arctangent Posted February 15, 2018 Just now, dmg_64 said: That doesn't make it not abandonware. Yes, it does. Abandonware is internet slang, nothing beyond that - and it refers to software you can download for free, not legally but with no real chance that the site will get hit with a copyright notice. 2 Share this post Link to post
seed Posted February 15, 2018 https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/abandonware In short, and by the definition, the classic Doom games do not classify as abandonware, which I think is pretty obvious (joke thread?) Also, Doom 2 received a new expansion in the recent years. 2 Share this post Link to post
Zulk RS Posted February 15, 2018 1 hour ago, Arctangent said: Abandonware is most correctly defined as "games that are illegal to distribute for free, but the people who hold the rights to it don't care enough to crack down on it." It's not actually a legal distinction. Which is to say, a game that is still being sold by its original distributor and likely will be for years to come is as far, far, far as you can get from abandonware. Age has absolutely nothing to do with it. 1 hour ago, dmg_64 said: It's not abandonware until the developer stops distributing it, this includes digital stores. Either way, Doom still isn't abandonwa- 1 hour ago, Error-404 said: Thanks guys. I was joking around about pirating doom. Guess I did actually? Oopsies Yes, Doom is 100% (times infinity) abandonware 1 Share this post Link to post
Koko Ricky Posted February 15, 2018 1 hour ago, Arctangent said: Abandonware is most correctly defined as "games that are illegal to distribute for free, but the people who hold the rights to it don't care enough to crack down on it." It's not actually a legal distinction. Which is to say, a game that is still being sold by its original distributor and likely will be for years to come is as far, far, far as you can get from abandonware. Age has absolutely nothing to do with it. This is a really important distinction. We're talking about the interest people have in maintaining their IPs, not actual legislation. Notice that basically any game that is deemed abandonware is one which is somewhat obscure, often released by companies that are no longer around. 4 Share this post Link to post
Linguica Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, dmg_64 said: That doesn't make it not abandonware. If any company ever decides to fight against piracy of an old game then by definition it was never permanently abandoned. In other words, a game is only "abandonware" until it isn't. 5 Share this post Link to post
Pure Hellspawn Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Error-404 said: Steam notwithstanding, is a game that hasn't been updated since the mid 90s abandoned? the mere fact that it's sold on Steam is enough to say it's not abandonware regardless of how the term is defined. 7 Share this post Link to post
Gez Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, Error-404 said: Steam notwithstanding, is a game that hasn't been updated since the mid 90s abandoned? Why are you notwithstanding Steam? Abandonware is about abandon. If a game is still being distributed, then it's not abandoned, is it? Also you didn't notwithstand GOG.com, which also distributes Doom. Anyways, here are further examples of how Doom has not been abandoned. It actually has been updated. For example, it has received new official source ports to the iPhone, PS3, Xbox, and Xbox360 platforms. It has received additional official content, such as the No Rest for the Living expansion set in 2010. The franchise received additional titles, and the classic Doom games have sometimes been rereleased then, such as for example for the Doom 3 BFG Edition. So when you add all these things together, you arrive at the inescapable conclusion that Doom is probably the least abandoned vintage game there is. Like even if abandonware is a fuzzy spectrum, putting Doom on it will be really, really fucking hard to justify. 17 Share this post Link to post
CoyoteComrade Posted February 15, 2018 K. Guess I'll delete the files I got my bad 0 Share this post Link to post
fraggle Posted February 15, 2018 3 hours ago, Error-404 said: a game that hasn't been updated since the mid 90s Barely more than a couple of years have ever gone past since the 90s without a release of Doom: Doom Collector's Edition (2001, re-released 2003) (as part of) Doom 3 Collector's Edition (2005) XBox Live Arcade (2006) Steam release (2007) Doom Classic for iOS (2009) (as part of) Doom 3: BFG Edition (2012) Doom Classic Complete (2012) GOG.com release (2015) It's hard to see how it could be any less "abandonware". 3 Share this post Link to post
esselfortium Posted February 15, 2018 From my understanding, "abandonware" (which as mentioned above is not a legal classification) is usually used in reference to software that is no longer legally available for purchase or download from its copyright owner. Doom is pretty clearly not abandoned. 6 Share this post Link to post
Bauul Posted February 15, 2018 Is any software ever actually "officially" abandoned? I.e. legal copyright owner publicly states that they are no longer interested in maintaining its legal status as copyrighted product and henceforth gifts the product to the public for free. Because if they did that, surely it's freeware, not abandonware? Abanonware always struck me as a phrase people came up with to tell themselves them pirating software was ok because they weren't going to be chased for it. 1 Share this post Link to post
geo Posted February 15, 2018 (edited) Is it abandoned if its a fully complete product that made it to market? Its commercialware? There are plenty of websites claiming its abandonware so somehow that gives them the right to post it for free and claim its not piracy when its still sold in stores and in various forms. iD / Bethesda / Zenimax still own it. Its not abandoned until the legal copyrights run out. Then its public domain and we'll see new DOOM games everywhere. I remember catching 2 burglars at my grandparents farm. They claimed the farm was abandon as if that was a defense. Just because my grand parents are both dead and no one lives doesn't mean that its not owned and watched over. Cops saw it my way. Edited February 16, 2018 by geo 3 Share this post Link to post
Edward850 Posted February 15, 2018 1 minute ago, geo said: Its not abandoned until the legal copyrights run out. Technically that's not abandoned either, rather it's public domain. 2 Share this post Link to post
geo Posted February 15, 2018 1 minute ago, Edward850 said: Technically that's not abandoned either, rather it's public domain. Oh yeah that. After 100 years right? Until Disney changes the law. 1 Share this post Link to post
wheresthebeef Posted February 15, 2018 If Zenimax/Bethesda can squeeze money out of it, it isn't abandonware 1 Share this post Link to post
Marcaek Posted February 15, 2018 2 hours ago, cyan0s1s said: Doom is abandonwave. What exactly would this be, taking soundtracks and effects from old 80's and 90's video games and slowing them down???? 3 Share this post Link to post
Linguica Posted February 15, 2018 1 hour ago, geo said: I remember catching 2 burglars at my grandparents farm. They claimed it was abandon as if that was a defense. Just because they're both dead Wow I really read this the wrong way at first 6 Share this post Link to post
Gez Posted February 16, 2018 2 hours ago, Bauul said: Is any software ever actually "officially" abandoned? I.e. legal copyright owner publicly states that they are no longer interested in maintaining its legal status as copyrighted product and henceforth gifts the product to the public for free. That happens sometimes, but it's for small stuff, typically coded by just one person or two. 0 Share this post Link to post
Pure Hellspawn Posted February 16, 2018 24 minutes ago, Gez said: That happens sometimes, but it's for small stuff, typically coded by just one person or two. Castle of the Winds is a good example of this. But the term for that is "Freeware". 0 Share this post Link to post