[ATTN: Games SIG people] Someone mention Exult/xu4?

[Hans de Goede]

Michael Fleming wrote:
> [ If you're not interested in Linux gaming or the SIG, feel free to skip
> over this email, I won't take offence ;-) ]
> 
> Hey folks,
> 
> I've just had a wander through the Games SIG Wiki pages and noticed the
> "Games of Interest", xu4 and Exult. Perhaps I can enlighten a bit? I'm an
> old Ultima fan and have been for too many years :-)
> 
> I've tried to package Exult before, with limited success (and not using the
> rather ugly spec the developers package) - it will compile on FC3 but dies
> with a number of C++ related errors on anything later than that - I'll give
> it another try if anyone wants something precise to work with, as it's been
> a while and my C++ skills are practically nonexistent.
> 
> In regards to legality/ability to play games other than U7 on it, I don't
> believe that's the case at this point - it was designed to play Ultima
> VII/Serpent Isle on Linux because, at the time of it's inception, there was
> no other way of doing so (I don't think dosbox was around or stable). Much
> of the heavy lifting in Exult was deciphering the "usecode" which described
> the game world and it's mechanics.
> 
> It'd be useful to folks that own the original games, but few others.
> 
> xu4 is possible, but the legality of distributing the Ultima IV data is
> indeed murky as the terms have been misunderstood and lost over time. In
> summary, it  was originally released to one magazine for it's cover CD as a
> promo at the time Ultima IX as released. It's not strictly freeware, it's
> distribution originally on said CD only plus any site run by a member of the
> online Ultima fan club (the Ultima Dragons, www.udic.org. Yeah, I'm a
> member although it's been ages since I did much with them).
> 
> (For a little more background info on how it came to be available to the
> latter, have a wander over to
> http://www.enlartenment.com/ultima/u4download.html - I was one of the
> people involved in it's more widespread legal release back in
> 1997. Beware: site design is very old, hasn't been touched in years, ugly
> as a bag of smashed crabs. You Have Been Warned.)
> 
> In summary: If legal/policy is OK with it, IMO package the code parts of
> the games and leave getting the data as an exercise for the reader. I'll
> even take xu4 if noone else wants it :-)
> 
> Thoughts?
> 

I've a thought (and acted on it) I've written Mike McCoy of Origin (aka 
Boomer) asking for a clear and written permission to distribute the 
Ultima IV datafiles. I've also specificly pointed to our binary firmware 
/ contect packaging guidelines / policy at:
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/Guidelines#head-adf31c383612aac313719f7b4f8167b7dcf245d2

And said that for a permission notice to be of any good to us it must 
match this criterium:
"Explicit permission is given by the owner to freely distribute without 
restrictions (this permission must be included, in "writing", with the 
files in the packaging)"

I've done this on a personal title (as always). I've just completed 
porting and packaging the game worminator for FE, which was originally 
released under a non free license. After some mails with the original 
Authors I've managed to get them to release it under GPL.

In the light of the not for commercial use license discussion which 
we've had I believe this is the _real_ solution. Still some other 
solution would be nice, since I'm sure we won't be able to convince all 
authors that they should re-release there work under an OSI license.

Regards,

Hans