
EA Is Releasing Command and Conquer and Red Alert’s Source Code - miobrien
https://kotaku.com/ea-is-releasing-command-conquer-and-red-alerts-source-1843574798
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phoe-krk
Previous discussion from yesterday:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23249964](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23249964)

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pathartl
I'm glad that EA is doing this. I certainly don't think we should expect it,
but I hope releasing source becomes standard. With more and more games moving
to SaaS and microtransaction-heavy, I feel like the core of the game doesn't
contribute to the bottom line as much as it used to.

With so many remasters/remakes being released, it's obvious that studios care
about their games, but I think it should be made obvious that releasing source
is the real path to preservation. Look at the recent build of Super Mario 64
for the PC. The game went from being able to run on a handful of systems
(13.56 million Wii U's, 101.63 million Wii's, 32.93 million N64's) to nearly
every modern x86-based computer. And now that it's being ported to ARM systems
as well, we'll probably see Mario 64 running natively on hardware for probably
the next 25 years, well past the life expectancy of many of the systems it
officially was built for.

Releasing source could also contribute to the bottom lines of the companies.
By Activision releasing the source to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1-3 (please dear
god I hope they do this), they could actually release those games on digital
platforms like Steam or Epic using ports/code improvements they didn't have to
write. Hell, if THPS1-3 were open sourced, I might attempt a port for the
first time.

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Exmoor
>a handful of systems (13.56 million Wii U's, 101.63 million Wii's, 32.93
million N64's)

I get that you're speaking relatively, but you and I have a _very_ different
idea of what qualifies as "a handful". Also, you could arguably add 154.02
million DS systems and 75 million 3DS systems if you include the slightly
improved Super Mario 64 DS.

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pathartl
Keep in mind that most of those Wii U's and Wii's definitely did not have
Mario 64 actually purchased on it, as well as the fact that you can no longer
purchase the game for those systems. With the price an N64 and the cartridge
go for these days, playing the original hardware is considered a premium.

I'd consider the DS version to be its own game. I love it, but with such large
changes to the core gameplay it's certainly not a port, and it's not a
remaster. Personally I think Nintendo should just release widescreen versions
of both to the Switch, maybe with Mario 64 DS being an overhaul DLC.

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sharkweek
My god what good memories I have with Red Alert.

That intro will forever be engraved in my memory.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnMaTx4yjI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJnMaTx4yjI)

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justanotherhn
Man, I wish Microsoft would opensource Age of Empires source code. That
community is still around miraculously and would most likely rejuvenate the
game.

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myle
Do they have it? I was under the impression that they had to resort to hacks
in order to release the recent remastered version.

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chabad360
Under GPL, huh, ain't that a rare treat!

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css
Fun fact: this was the last game Virgin Interactive released before getting
bought out by EA.

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skilled
Red Alert on PlayStation 1.... damn, I spent so many hours playing this game
with my friends. Great memories.

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xwdv
What kind of mods will people make?

