I agree 100%. I still play Danger City sometimes too. As a developer myself, I'm still happy to see World of Darkness floating around out there. Is it buggy? Yeah, a bit. Is it poorly written? Yeah, somewhat--but it's unique, and it's hours of work. I would hate to have somebody say it wasn't worth distributing any more.
Ken Downey
The Addictor
www.TheAddictor.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "Dakotah Rickard" <dakotah.rick...@gmail.com>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <gamers@audyssey.org>
Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2011 1:42 AM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Old Titles Removed


Listen. I'm not a developer yet, and I say yet because I'm working
right now on learning Java, as I think it'll be a long-haul language.
I completely understand the complaints on both sides here, but the
issue is actually a simple one, and I'll say it as many times as I
have to, because I've said it before.

Once a developer claims a game, that game is the responsibility of the
developer. If, a while later, the developer no longer wants the game
up, then make a redistributable release with no contact information
and give it to folks who just want to play the game. Personally, I
love danger city as it gives me a chance, every so often, to kick the
crap out of people in a slightly unique way. I feel about that game
very much as I feel about MOTA, although frankly I understand how way
better MOTA is.

The point is this: someone put time and effort into writing a program
for people to play. For one person, who currently owns it, to say that
they just don't care anymore, so why should anyone else is a serious
blow to a reputation that is crucial for a developer to have. If a
developer gets tired of a project so they quit, or if the OS no longer
supports the language well, then that's where community lists like
this one take over, because God knows there're plenty of computer nuts
like myself on this list that can get stuff sorted out, or at least we
can say there's no hope, so either get an older system with an older
OS or suck it up and deal with no access to that one game.

Summary, it's poor public relations to say that the games can't be
redistributed. It's good pr that we know why. It's poor pr that people
whining is the reason for a big mess of more whining. My vote: make a
redistributable without contact info that the people who just love the
games so much can grab ahold of and wash your hands of it. Totally
unclaim the projects. They aren't yours. End of story.

On 4/16/11, Alex Kenny <alexkenn...@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm not a developer, but I think there is a reason why a developer
would choose not to allow older programs to be redistributed.

As Damien has previously mentioned, these older titles were written in
a deprecated language by amateur developers. The code is difficult to
read, update, compile and run. I believe there is probably a
reputation issue. Developers don't want buggy and useless code
floating around the net that they wrote. True, Damien didn't write
these games, but by purchasing them, the code is now his
responsibility.

Another reason I've heard for developers refusing to redistribute
abandonware is that, even if they don't support it, people will still
contact them expecting help. If Damien did allow the games to be
distributed, I have no doubt that someone would download a copy
somewhere, encounter a problem, and send Damien an email saying, "Game
X won't run! Help!" Even if he emphasizes in the game documentation
that the games are abandonware, we've all seen first-hand that many
people in the blind community do not bother reading documentation or
other information that's right in front of them.


On 4/16/11, The Addictor <kenwdow...@neo.rr.com> wrote:
Hey Tom,
While I agree a hundred per cent, I still don't see why he's asking that
no
one else distribute the games.  I have them all, as well as other games
like
Shell Shock.  They are certainly not all that great, but to demand that
nobody else distribute them seems a bit odd.  I know they're his games,
that
he purchased them, but I don't see a reason for that.
Ken Downey
The Addictor
www.TheAddictor.com

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