Since Outrage is no longer around this might or might not ever happen... Perhaps ONLY Kevin Bentley knows for sure.
I'd love to peruse the source code to this program that we all at times loved and hated.
If that ever occurred, could the Descent Community ever get the rights to this game and to produce say a Descent 4?
What I'd like to see perhaps is that the Descent Community develop a Descent 4 with any proceeds going to say the Red Cross specifically to help those that are victims of disasters.
No, you're NOT touching that Fusion bug. That thing rocks.
Destiny, it's highly unlikely to impossible that we'd ever get the source code, though. If we somehow did get it, though, I'd like to see a project set up like the FS2_Open project. The FS2 community has done amazing things with their game; I'd like to see ours have that same chance.
Descent 3 would be very interesting to simply look at. The only professional game that I've looked at is Doom 3, and I would like to see how good netcode looks
If you want to look at game code, you could go take a look at Freespace 2's Source Code Project. The FS2 community has been improving it for some time now, and the results are really amazing.
You could have tried a Google search; the SCP's page on HLP was the first result. Anyway, you'll want to check out Hard Light Productions, the home of the FS2 community. Their Source Code Project forum has all of the latest builds/new features. For the SCP's site, head here.
I used to have a copy of the unbastardised FS2 source at one point. I probably have it archived on a CD somewhere but they're all at home and probably packed away in a box somewhere by now. I'd love to get a hold of it again, I can't stand the SCP and their constant masturbation over graphical improvements.
I believe that the original FS2 source code is available for download from various locations. I'd have to respectfully disagree with your comment about the SCP, though. While graphics has been a big focus of it, they've done a hell of a lot more than just make the game look prettier. Adding HT&L support to the engine to make 100k-poly models in-game a reality is just one example. Another is the massive set of upgrades they've done to the FRED2 editor, including a large number of new SEXP expressions. Things like in-game cinematic cutscenes or transforming animated models are now possible. A major victory that one of the coders achieved recently was the long-sought ability to multi-dock ships. A few of the Volition designers have been absolutely amazed when they saw what the group has been able to do with their original code.
Even if the SCP wasn't about anything more than graphical improvements, I honestly wouldn't mind. I've always held the opinion that gameplay is a far more important factor in whether or not a game is enjoyable than its graphics are (except for something like Myst, maybe). In my opinion, the Freespace series has the absolute best singleplayer gameplay of any game I've ever seen. While a few things can be added to the engine, I think the core gameplay is just about perfect. With that aspect already so good, bringing the graphics from a level that was good for 1999 to a level that is good for 2005 is pretty much all I would look for. With the addition of environmental and specular mapping, plus the high-res textures, high-poly models, glowmaps, and enhanced effects included in the MediaVPs, the game looks absolutely amazing. Once you see that high-poly Deimos fully specular mapped, you can't help but drool.
FS2Open is very difficult to follow, especially since its features break compatibility with the original FreeSpace 2 (which wasn't that popular to begin with, so you only segment the fan population further).
Sometimes, I give thought to making missions for FreeSpace 1, if only because the code is unbastardized and you see it on bargain bin shelves all the time - someone must be buying it and they probably have a hard time finding any user-missions for it with the death of Volition Watch. If only capital ships in FS1 weren't so uninteresting...
Kyouryuu, I don't really see how FS2_Open can really segment the fan base much at all. Any new player who joins any of the major FS2 fan sites almost always gets an immediate primer about the SCP and its enhancements, along with directions on where/how to get it. The community's very helpful in that respect. As for those who have never visited a FS2 fan site and so have never heard of the SCP, since they're not really part of the fan community in any real sense, they're not really being segmented at all by not having it. What could really be seen as segmenting FS fans would be the death of PXO; while the SCP implemented a replacement to it, anyone who picks up the game from scratch will simply think that multiplayer no longer exists, unless they make the effort to go online and search for FS2 sites.
As for the compatibility issue, I don't think it's really that big. The SCP is fully backwards-compatible; the coders have always stressed that, if an older mission/campaign doesn't work right with it, there's a bug that has to be fixed. As for going the other way, there are some campaigns that are designated SCP-only due to the newer features they use. However, there are still just as many being released for vanilla FS2. And, even if someone doesn't have a computer capable of running the SCP with all of its graphical enhancements, they can just turn off whatever features they don't want, avoid uninstalling the high-poly models and animated effects, and wind up with a SCP install that doesn't take up any more memory than the original FS2 but still allows them to play any new campaigns.
P.S. The Volition Watch Archives are actually still around, at least for the moment. I think that several people have set about completely backing them up, as well.
