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[The Fifth Horseman]

Think of this. In a way, this is a passive method of fighting piracy (as opposed to active that currently is their only).

[Tulac]

I think ESA have done a great job with sending the Cassini - Huygens probe...

Ohh that's another ESA...

Don't worry they would already be exploiting the option of selling old games if they could...
The problem is only abandonia lost permission for 200 games that they cover, who knows how many more are under their jurisdiction...
The costs for bringing tech support would be immensive, while interest and compatibility would be low...
They've probably done their calculation of supply and demand...

[Titan]

They could just release them "as it is" w/o any support.
They don't NEED to have techsupport realy.

Have you ever recived techsupport on Icecream?

[BeefontheBone]

have you ever had a problem gettin icecream to fulfill its intended purpose?

[Omuletzu]

I'm too tired to read all of the above posts.Sue me if i say something wrong

Okay, my view on game development:
If you create a software, and you plan on selling it, you must be ready to support the customer.That means if person "A" bought your software, and is having difficulty with it, he can call your tech support line ANYTIME, and get support.So if he happens to call in the dead of the night, there should be somebody to offer him help.The same goes for on-line help.As i see it it's a matter of common sense.If you are eating food bought with the customer's money you should make sure that the customer gets the software working! Following my judgement, i see it fit that customers should get tech assistance even after the company has gone bankrupt/or the game is 10+ years old.I believe it shouldn't matter when you bought the software, or how the company is faring.As long as you bought it, you should get assistance anytime.That aside, this is my view on ESA: I understand that games shouldn't be free.Just think of the manhours -scratch that- manmonths spent on programming the software.Also, from the common sense perspective, i don't think it's fair towards the developers that sites offer their games freely.Now ESA comes into the picture and says "we have a contract with software developer X, and we request that you remove all of their games".That's fine IF the game would still be supported(ie you could buy it in a shiny box, straight from the production line, you would have tech support, patches, addons, etc).But that's not the case.My opinion on ESA is that they're actually burying the games.Because the companies that released them have no future plans with them, they aren't selling them anymore, so you cannot have them => old games are forgotten.That's why i don't think ESA's actions are fair.I mean take Lucasarts.They have a strict policy in relation to abandonware, BUT they still support the old gems they created.You can get the "latest" patch from them, you can get tech support.That's what i call fair.You can only get the game by spending some good cash on it, but at least you know you are getting aid, should something occur

[A. J. Raffles]

Originally posted by BeefontheBone@May 23 2005, 03:55 PM
have you ever had a problem gettin icecream to fulfill its intended purpose?

Now that you mention it: yes. Think of faulty cones.

[BeefontheBone]

damn. that'll teach me. in fact I agree with Titan - as far as I'm concerned they could provide them as-is - there are budget titles available that don't run on XP (Discworld Noir).

[gregor]

Originally posted by the_fifth_horseman@May 23 2005, 12:32 PM
As for support, they can just put up a disclaimer that the software was made with older sysops and hardware in mind, therefore possibly being incompatibile with newer stuff, and as it is the tech support for these games has expired due to that.
And they can always add a link to DosBox site.

I am afraid that wouldn't do. However, a good FAQ and a forum with a few skilled modearators should do it. A good example is 3D realms where you can actually get support and explanation on how to make their old games work on WinXP and using DOSBox or WMDSound. And if you are still lost you can put up a question on their forums.

Another thing i was wondering about is these project like Ultima Underwold in OpenGL. Are they legal? And what about Zdoom and the other one - Doom in open GL are they legal?
What abotu if you created your own doom maps and you distribute them? Among others you have different mods of the game, such as Star trek doom (it all happens on Enterprise i believe) and then there are sound mods which sound like someone is with you in the room giving spcial effects. Pistol going "Bang! Bang " and chainsaw going "Brla, brla, brla brla...." of rocket going "Fishuuuuu....pouh!". Ok you get the point.

And since i a already in this topic does anyone know what's with Duke nukem mods? Such as WW2 GI - a very good one IMO especially because it features cooperative play. Is it ok for Abandonia (thought it's size is a bit big) or is it maybe even for Reloaded site?

I mean these companies gave out their engines or at least editors and people created quite a few good FPS using them. Are they protected/copyrighted by ESA?

[The Fifth Horseman]

On that question, I think not. ESA protects tha actual game and not its engine, adn if the company released the engine or sourcecode then ESA have no control over who uses it and for what - at least until somebody tries to make cash in the process.