It's a good idea not to just keep a copy of the source code stashed away somewhere, but also any contracts relating to the rights to the code.
In the early 90's, DUX Software licensed the rights to port SimCity to Unix from Maxis. Then DUX made a contract with me to do the work. I kept a copy of my contract with DUX, the original floppies they gave me with the original PC and Mac source code, as well as versions of the source code I ported to Unix.
Years later I got a job working for Maxis on The Sims. Before we shipped it, EA bought Maxis, so a lot of people were let go, projects were canceled, physical and digital files were shuffled around, and institutional knowledge was lost.
After we shipped The Sims but just before I left EA, on a fluke, I asked a Maxis old-timer if he had any idea if the contract between Maxis and DUX for SimCity still existed, and where it might be.
As you would expect, it was in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard." ;(
So I waited late into the night for the leopard to fall asleep, made a photocopy of it, then returned the original to its hiding place. ;)
Several years later, John Gilmore suggested we persuade EA to relicense the SimCity source code under GPLv3, so it could be shipped with the OLPC.
Of course nobody in EA Management knew where the source code was or if it even still existed, but fortunately I still had my copy.
And of course nobody at EA Legal even knew if EA owned the rights to the changes I'd made (Maxis had gotten into some pretty terrible SimCity licensing contracts in the past).
But fortunately I'd kept a copy of the contract between myself and DUX, and the contract between DUX and Maxis, proving its provenance, which clearly stated that DUX's rights expired after 10 years, after which the rights to all the modifications I made went back to Maxis (and thus were inherited by EA).
Once all that was cleared up, the most important factor was that EA deputized someone on the inside to shepherd the project through the various stages of approval, relicensing, development and QA. Otherwise it would have died on the vine, since everybody in a big company, no matter how well intentioned, is always 500% busy doing their own stuff and can't be distracted by something that doesn't affect the bottom line.
It finally made it through both EA Legal and QA, and we released the SimCity source code and binary for the OLPC under GPLv3!
https://github.com/SimHacker/micropolis/tree/master/micropol...
The work you've done here is great.... You worked hard but no doubt brought a smile to many now happy children. I don't think my thanks is enough but it's a start. Keep on doing the good work you did with this and the world might get a bit brighter.
Really cool, thanks! I played SimCity a fair bit as a kid, it's really fun to look through s_disast.c in that repo... brings back some memories :P
You're welcome, and thanks for checking out the code!
Since releasing the X11/TCL/Tk version for OLPC, we've stripped out the user interface, cleaned up and refactored and doxygenated the city simulator engine code into C++, and wrapped it with SWIG so it plugs into Python and other scripting languages. It's not as "authentic", but it has more comments and is easier to read than the old C code:
https://github.com/SimHacker/micropolis/tree/master/Micropol...
Here's a talk about it:
HAR 2009 Lightning Talk Transcript: Constructionist Educational Open Source SimCity, by Don Hopkins
http://micropolisonline.com/static/documentation/HAR2009Tran...
I got hooked on computer games by playing Zork at MIT-DM, and it really blew my mind to finally be able to read the original Zork source code in MDL. Reading the source code takes you backstage behind the scenes of a world you visited years ago, like the Disney's Keys to the Kingdom Tour!
https://github.com/itafroma/zork-mdl
this was awesome. were your floppies still readable ? how ?
Floppies and VHS are more resilient that the people think. I have floppies from early of 90's that can be read/write without any issue. I have yet Dune game on two floppy disk, and many shareware, free and pirated games from these time. A few years ago, I did a backup of these floppies with a 3" 1/2 unit that I have.
I'd say most people are more familiar with late low quality media, which means plenty of unreadable disks from the 00s while most stuff from the early 90s might work fine (if stored properly)
That is absolutely fantastic. :)
it was in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Leopard."
I see what you did there.
Unfortunately my comprehension only got as far as "that is a really really nice use of words."
Can I have a hint?
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The plans specifying that Arthur Dent's home is to be torn down for building a highway bypass are on public display in such a disused lavatory.
Oh. Thank you so much. :)
I saw the movie, I think I really need to get the book...
The movie was a brief summary, and about 60% all-new content.
I recorded H2G2 off the radio as a teen, and listened to it so many times I could have quoted the entire 6 hours in one shot.
Me too, on cassette tapes, off the local college radio station WMUC!
I didn't mean to plagiarize -- those words are just so deeply embedded in my mind from listening to the radio shows and records, reading the books and playing the infocom game so many times, and they so perfectly described the situation. So I assumed everyone would recognize Douglas Adam's really really nice use of words, like a Shakespearian quote. ;)
"It's unpleasantly like being drunk."
"What's so unpleasant about being drunk?"
"You ask a glass of water."
If you haven't already listened to the 1978 radio show millions of times, it's on youtube!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaV8XOYviB4&list=PL5nE2JSEwP...
Get the book, yes, but do get the original BBC radio play. That's where it started, and it's excellent.
Seconded. The radio play is great.