Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by ryandrake 41 days ago
> The game is not expected to be made open source due to certain dependencies that are not also open source.

That's always kind of struck me as a silly excuse. So just release it without those non-open source dependencies. If there is a community need, they will be re-implemented. There's no law that says an open source release needs to be buildable from day one.
1 comments
MarsIronPI 41 days ago
The only time it's not silly is when said dependencies are not just non-free, but covered under an NDA. If the API is under NDA then they can't release the code that uses the APIs. AIUI this is why FOSS games don't get ported to console, even though there might be people willing to fork up the money to pay for devkits and SDKs.
link
OneDeuxTriSeiGo 41 days ago
My guess is that it's the dependencies for the game engine. They use a custom engine but with how fast they got it up and running I'm guessing it's based on a pre-existing game engine which would almost certainly get it put under NDA.
link
0cf8612b2e1e 41 days ago
What secret sauce APIs are there to protect on the consoles? I guess the DRM side they might want to keep as secret as possible, but everything else strikes me as boring standard stuff. Here is how you draw a triangle, register an achievement, pop up the console store, whatever.
link
MarsIronPI 41 days ago
Who knows what some enterprising hacker might be able to glean about the workings of the console by looking at the APIs.

I think that consoles shouldn't be locked down, but it's sensible granted the premise.

link
Pannoniae 40 days ago
All of them you can already find on the internet with only a bit of searching btw. With the docs and headers and everything.

The only people who this stops are the people who want to do things "by the book". :P

link
MarsIronPI 40 days ago
Well, all it takes is for e.g. Nintendo to see that you're violating NDA and poof your game is gone from the eShop. So while in practice you can get the API docs, woe to the company that leaked them.

So if e.g. Wesnoth got ported to eShop they'd legally have to publish the source but Nintendo would instantly delist and sue for NDA violation.

Again, I hate the companies that do this. Nobody should buy from them. But that's what they do.

link
Pannoniae 39 days ago
I don't follow, sorry.

1. In order to publish a game to a console, you do need an agreement with the console manufacturer. (Unless you're doing homebrew but then the point is moot.)

2. In that case, you do get access to the official documentation, everything is solid.

3. The word "legally" has a lot of bearing there. Sure, they have to. And if they don't, what? Will the other contributors sue them? If they aren't willing to do that, then they can get away with it.

4. The context is about someone trying to hack the devices. ("Who knows what some enterprising hacker might be able to glean about the workings of the console by looking at the APIs.") They certainly won't be bothered by NDAs.

link