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what's the point of discussing the open source idea? KK have said multiple times in the past that it is never going to happen. Partly because they have contracts with other companies that prohibit it, and probably also because it would take huge amounts of time to supervise (of course they're not going to give away complete control of the game... even KK is not that stupid).
Because it would be cool for the game to not die completely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Biglines
Quote:
Originally Posted by Biglines
News to me. I didn't know they had contracts with other companies preventing them from doing it, though that makes sense. I also didn't know they had actually commented on it.
iirc, they licensed 2 rendering engines, one for interior (inside buildings) and one for terrain. that's why they can't go open source with the current code.
Makes sense, if that were the case then they wouldn't be able to release the full source to the game. They could release everything but the engine, but all that would allow people to really do is either replace the engine or make a new server/client based on their code. But that's really pointless.Quote:
Originally Posted by Setlec
that would also make sense, open source would need to use an open source engine, but the contracts I was talking about were more on the art side of things I think. (which was also why they couldn't hire community members for art, since they had stupid contract that forces them to hire certain companies to do art for them (note, this is how i remember it, but am not 100% sure))Quote:
Originally Posted by Setlec
But ye, KK have definitively said that open source is not an option. (open sourcing or using some open source engine has come up every few months in the past few years).
(omfg I just noticed my post count... I really shud get a life)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Biglines
Yeah, it sounds like they would have a lot of problems releasing the source, then. Which makes more sense now. Let's really hope they come through and fix it up.
blegh, I just hope Kirk doesn't start promising stuff again and distract us with some more concept art. I just want an explanation for past behavior, admission of failure and a true insight in what is going on, instead of empty promises and outright lies. If it's gonna take years, just say so, instead of stringing us along with some shiny trinkets.
I also don't get why it is again taking days to just post something. Taking this long just smacks of past behavior, I don't want big announcements or reveals, I want to be kept in the loop.
questions I'd like answered:
- Who is responsible for the incompetent communication with us users?
- Is it going to get any better?
- Why did we get lied to when they said they were working on the patch (it doesn't take a year to debug a patch for any game, including neocron, if the largest base for the patch is already done), and what actually happened?
- Are you at this point working on the anti-cheat patch or if not, is there an actual planning for getting it done, or are you waiting for some time when BP doesn't require constant attention?
Thing I don't want:
- futuristic concept art for neocron 3 unless development has actually started properly.
- promises of things that are going to happen in the future. in the past 5 years, KK has never given us any reason to believe in any of their promises (no promise has been kept in the past 5 years)
kk outsource all or most 3d content to a single company the very same that did BP content! lame idea!
Why do you keep going back to the HUD? There's far more to the interface than the HUD and yet you keep arguing that because the HUD is ok, the rest doesn't matter/is unimportant.Quote:
Originally Posted by Biglines
It could be the language barrier, but regardless, no point arguing with you as you'll probably just say "The HUD is good!!!" :)
Its not all bad as if KK have to use the same people for the content, we can be sure any graphics development (be it NC3 or whatever if it really is on the go) will look good! BP is very nice graphically, just that the game blows compared to NC lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by Setlec
lol, I had originally read ui as in hud, because most people think thats the ui, and in the next post I assumed the same. However, of the ui, the hud is by far the most difficult to get right, menus are relatively easy to design with current standard interfaces, so ye, a redesign of the GUI isnt that difficult with the current HUD as a base (wireframe, not graphical design). But you are right that it should be redesigned, though I don't think it's the problem considering the rest of the problems of the game ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr_Snow
Okay all;
I just got off the phone after a 20 minute conversation with Kirk Lenke. On reading my post, and a couple of the PM's I have sent him over the months, he asked for a contact number to call me on.
In the 20 minutes we had on the phone, we discussed a lot about Neocron, its current state and its future. Kirk went into a lot of detail about certain things that I'm not sure I can discuss here, so I'll share with you the basics of what he specifically said I could talk about.
Pretty much the first point that came up was IP (Intellectual Property). I don't think I am over-stepping the line in saying this, as I'm pretty sure this is information that could be obtained from various Google searches/phone calls. Neocron is the IP of ReaKKtor Media, and Black Prophecy is the IP of Gamigo. So... what does that mean?
Essentially, it means that the team at KK are paid to work on BP, and only BP. They are not paid to work on Neocron. As such, the (failed) 174 patch of over a year ago was worked on by their developers in their FREE TIME. This is a big deal, and is something I wasn't entirely aware of prior to our phone call. This isn't the only issue though.
Kirk also confirmed what we already knew. The code is old, haggered and an utter nightmare to work with.
On a plus note, however, work is currently underway on re-developing the anti-cheat patch which failed many months ago; again, in their free time. Kirk did give me a rough ETA, but I can't share that. If he feels it's a date they can stick to, then I'm sure he will share it when he responds to this thread.
Kirk seemed like a nice bloke, and it seems I may have misjudged him based only on his lack of presence on this forum. It was clear to me on that phone call that Kirk is genuine when he says he cares about Neocron, and is proud of what the game achieved many years ahead of its time. I believe him when he says he is working on kick starting the development of Neocron 3, but for the reasons outlined above, there's a lot more to it than just taking 'some' of the team off Black Prophecy. Sadly, it's never going to be that simple.
Kirk was honest with me about everything I asked. Nothing was ignored or brushed away. Again, I wish I could share the entirety of our conversation, but some of what Kirk said is better left for him to share himself.
He said he'd take the time to read and reply to this at some point next week, and he's aware the timer is still ticking ;)
Good news all round then.
Nice work Loki.
Will await a more detailed response from Kirk as you have me all excited with your secrets and mysteries!
Thanks LOKI.
Admittedly it's not the worlds best news, but it does clear up some misunderstandings about Neocron, which is a good step.
Looking forward to reading Kirk's reply next week.
For those just joining us I've added relevant links to the original post.