Heretic and Hexen released under GPL

[Graf Zahl]

I'd rather drop the $100 on the hobbiest license of fmod as a indy developer. Besides, i don't exactly see a rash of zdoom basted games popping up as it is (there are only a handful of doom basted indy games as it is across all source ports). Again, before we all go nuts ripping and re-coding everything, best to find out what fmod developers recommend.

I don't need to pay to make a program that's distributed free of charge. And paying the fee wouldn't help me with the license in any way. A closed source library is not compatible with the GPL. Period. The only way this could work is doing it as a separate project. But then I'd still need a fallback.

[DoomKn1ght_]

GPLing ZDoom has a bunch of other obstacles, though, such as the Build code in the software renderer (used for slopes, at least, and probably some other things as well), and the FMod sound code.

Before you go nuts, E-mail Silverman and find his take. Its not like he is unfamiliar to zdoom and its not like zdoom is basted entirely on build. There may be a case for some code to be grandfathered in.

Would it mean a software renderer without slopes? About the opl, I wonder if a soundfont exist, but probably no.

[Xaser]

From what I remember, Silverman has talked with Randy before about this issue. Silverman said was he didn't mind ZDoom's use because it contained "not much build code", though in legal terms that unfortunately doesn't mean a thing. Perhaps more negotiation could be worked out?

Unless this is solved, then regular ZDoom won't ever go GPL. Graf can pull off a GZDoom release by dropping the software renderer entirely, eliminating the Build code entirely, but of course that's not an option for regular Z. Hehe, imagine playing Doom without any renderer. All you have is the automap and sound cues. ;P

[Kate]

All you have is the automap and sound cues. ;P

It's a more primitive version of Doom2D!

[Xaser]

Fun thing is, I've actually always wanted to do that ever since Automap markers came into being... ;P

Re: the GPL-ing itself: BLOODY YES. Forgot to say it earlier... hehe, Quasar's probably having a fit of joy right now. ;P

[Necromage]

Awesome news!

[DoomKn1ght_]

There is surely a way to keep most of the software renderer dumping all build code.

[Unknown_Assassin]

Excellent news.

[Kinsie]

There is surely a way to keep most of the software renderer dumping all build code.

I'm fairly positive that ZDoom could go GPL with what little BUILD code there is. See: Duke3D and Shadow Warrior.

(granted, those games used the entire BUILD engine rather than a small slice, but it's still something to keep in mind. I'm sure Ken would give the nod if asked nicely)

[Gez]

There is surely a way to keep most of the software renderer dumping all build code.

I'm fairly positive that ZDoom could go GPL with what little BUILD code there is. See: Duke3D and Shadow Warrior.

(granted, those games used the entire BUILD engine rather than a small slice, but it's still something to keep in mind. I'm sure Ken would give the nod if asked nicely)

Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior have been released under the GPL? This is news to me.

(And by news, I mean "highly dubious.")

[Graf Zahl]

Yes, they have. Which makes the GPL thing a bit tricky. Technically the engine itself is not under the GPL but if the addition to the Duke/SW code is legally valid all code in there would be GPL (or GPL compatible) by default so it'd be free for the taking by other GPL'd projects.

If not, the GPL releases of Duke and SW are illegal.

[Michi]

Interesting development. I certainly didn't see this coming. So what's its effects on ZDoom?

Graf has stated his view but Randy has remained suspiciously silent (like always when it comes to important topics... )

[esselfortium]

Yes, they have. Which makes the GPL thing a bit tricky. Technically the engine itself is not under the GPL but if the addition to the Duke/SW code is legally valid all code in there would be GPL (or GPL compatible) by default so it'd be free for the taking by other GPL'd projects.

If not, the GPL releases of Duke and SW are illegal.

Weird. This might not be a bad thing to ask Ken Silverman about. o_O

[Rachael]

but Randy has remained suspiciously silent (like always when it comes to important topics... )

I suspect he's just trying to take into consideration what it would mean if he did GPL the whole thing, and he's probably also waiting for more people to weigh in on the topic to help him decide.

You know, to be honest, I like G/ZDoom both just the way they are. Sacrificing some code just to GPL it just doesn't bode well with me. However, if the build engine stuff were completely rewritten (not using Ken's algorithms, but from scratch), I wouldn't see too much of a problem with it.

But then again, you always could just ask Ken, anyway.

Also, since the beginning of time, it seems, sound libraries were always copyrighted. Going OpenAL might be the only way to go. I guess the question is, does ANYONE here have experience with that? Cause I sure don't.

[Nash]

I woke up today and this is the first thread I read. I'm so happy to see this thread.

Sure, we might still have a long way to go before ZDoom is truly 100% free from restrictive licenses, but having the Heretic and Hexen code GPL'ed was something that had been fought for so long and we finally have it.

Great news indeed. :)

Now we need to figure out what to do with the slope code and the sound code...

BTW: I am all for Graf dropping the software rendere and the OPL emulation, in the name of progress. I don't consider GZDoom "oldschool" - I consider it a tool to make new and modern games, and Doom compatiblity is not something I'm interested in when I use GZDoom.