Porting Ags (Adventure Games Studios)

[Cpt Ezz]

Hi again, second post!
This time I'm wondering if anybody would be able to port a Sierra Style game making program called 'Adventure Games Studio' (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk) for the Pandora.
It was ported to Linux when it was in version 2.7.2 but now it has moved on to 3.1.2 and alot of new features have been added!
It is a great game making program that is REALLY easy to use, it uses is a mix of JAVA and C# to program.
So if there is anyone out there willing it would be a great addition to the pandora

 

[Caine]

Please use the search functionality before posting. This has been discussed many times before.

In short: AGS is not open source and therefore cannot be ported freely. Some people have requested Chris Jones (the author) permission to port to linux & pandora. Chris granted permission to someone to port it to Linux, but so far this has not been done yet. If I remember correctly, Chris has refused other port requests so far.

<edit>Correction: with "not been done yet" I mean "it is not fully up-to-date"</edit>

 

[juanvvc]

Adventure Game Studio is a wonderful development system, and several of its games are superb. 5 days a stranger or the two parts of Apprentice are master pieces without discussion.

But AGS is not open source and its author won't release the source code of the interpreter. It is explained in the FAQ section of the website. Without source code, a port is not possible. If there is enough interest, AGS' author may consider a port to Pandora. But it seems difficult since the Linux/PC version is not updated any more, and then a Linux/Pandora version seems to have little chance.

 

[Xenu]

There's a linux port of ags however I don't think it works on ARM. And it is not open source. As I have understood it the author of the linux port (not Chris himself) has very little time to work on it however he has stated that he would like to add support for ARM-devices but that is in a far distant future .

 

[fade]

There's a linux port of ags however I don't think it works on ARM. And it is not open source. As I have understood it the author of the linux port (not Chris himself) has very little time to work on it however he has stated that he would like to add support for ARM-devices but that is in a far distant future .

I've seen this requested many times too, an each time i've really hoped something would come of it. AGS really would open up a wealth of fantastic games, not to mention encourage more to be created. Would the author of the Linux port be open to someone else helping him out with it if he himself doesnt have a lot of time?

 

[Xenu]

There's a linux port of ags however I don't think it works on ARM. And it is not open source. As I have understood it the author of the linux port (not Chris himself) has very little time to work on it however he has stated that he would like to add support for ARM-devices but that is in a far distant future .

I've seen this requested many times too, an each time i've really hoped something would come of it. AGS really would open up a wealth of fantastic games, not to mention encourage more to be created. Would the author of the Linux port be open to someone else helping him out with it if he himself doesnt have a lot of time?

I have no idea, but I would guess not since the AGS source code is not open I would asume that the guy that has made the linux port has a deal with Chris not to share the code with anyone else.

 

[fade]

There's a linux port of ags however I don't think it works on ARM. And it is not open source. As I have understood it the author of the linux port (not Chris himself) has very little time to work on it however he has stated that he would like to add support for ARM-devices but that is in a far distant future .

I've seen this requested many times too, an each time i've really hoped something would come of it. AGS really would open up a wealth of fantastic games, not to mention encourage more to be created. Would the author of the Linux port be open to someone else helping him out with it if he himself doesnt have a lot of time?

I have no idea, but I would guess not since the AGS source code is not open I would asume that the guy that has made the linux port has a deal with Chris not to share the code with anyone else.

Whilst I respect this, I don't see the point of it if the guy that made the Linux port has no time to work on it. I wonder if Chris (and the Linux port maintainer) would be open to the idea of introducing someone trusted that would respect the closed source nature of the project, and that would have more time to actively work on it.

 

[skeezix]

Maybe its a friend of his that he trusted, and they enjoyed doing a quick port for fun.

Evidently he's not doing the system to spread it to the wind of all OSes, or he'd have lots of ports; he's not interested in OSS since he says so in the FAQ (I've not read it, but mentioned above.) Chris is probably enjoying making it and having full control (fine for him), or maybe he making $$ on it and wants to limit his support costs, etc. Theres lots of reasons.

Someone respectable could go ask him and get a feal for it though, but dont' criticize what he's done; he owes no one

jeff

 

[Cpt Ezz]

Maybe its a friend of his that he trusted, and they enjoyed doing a quick port for fun.

Evidently he's not doing the system to spread it to the wind of all OSes, or he'd have lots of ports; he's not interested in OSS since he says so in the FAQ (I've not read it, but mentioned above.) Chris is probably enjoying making it and having full control (fine for him), or maybe he making $$ on it and wants to limit his support costs, etc. Theres lots of reasons.

Someone respectable could go ask him and get a feal for it though, but dont' criticize what he's done; he owes no one

jeff

Firstly, sorry about asking for it again...i did do a search but didn't find anything *facepalm
Secondly, He is looking for someone to port it. it says this on the download page, just below the linux port, that they DO need a C++ programer to port and maintain it!!! didn't anyone else see that
Thirdly, AGS is freeware, he has said on multiple occainsines that he NEVER wants to charge for it
Finally, IF there is a C++ programer out there willing to port AGS E-mail Chris. I will be E-Mailing him in the next few days to discuss with him if he is wiing to let it out

THanks for the replies

P.S
He has said that if there is enough interest then HE WILL make a linux editor (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/acfaq.htm)

 

[Xenu]

Maybe its a friend of his that he trusted, and they enjoyed doing a quick port for fun.

Evidently he's not doing the system to spread it to the wind of all OSes, or he'd have lots of ports; he's not interested in OSS since he says so in the FAQ (I've not read it, but mentioned above.) Chris is probably enjoying making it and having full control (fine for him), or maybe he making $$ on it and wants to limit his support costs, etc. Theres lots of reasons.

Someone respectable could go ask him and get a feal for it though, but dont' criticize what he's done; he owes no one

jeff

Firstly, sorry about asking for it again...i did do a search but didn't find anything *facepalm
Secondly, He is looking for someone to port it. it says this on the download page, just below the linux port, that they DO need a C++ programer to port and maintain it!!! didn't anyone else see that
Thirdly, AGS is freeware, he has said on multiple occainsines that he NEVER wants to charge for it
Finally, IF there is a C++ programer out there willing to port AGS E-mail Chris. I will be E-Mailing him in the next few days to discuss with him if he is wiing to let it out

THanks for the replies

P.S
He has said that if there is enough interest then HE WILL make a linux editor (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/acfaq.htm)

Well you should contact Tom Vandepoele, aka Electroshokker on the ags forums, the maintainer of the linux port. AGS linux port. However i doubt that anyone except someone that Chris trust 100% will have the source code.

 

[Cpt Ezz]

I did message him and this what I said and what he responded with:

Cpt Ezz on 23 Mar 2010, 09:01

Hi, i have heard that you are in the prosses of making the AGS editor for Linux but i have a few questions

Firstly, When its done will it run on OMAP3 linux?
Secondly, When will it be done as many people are hoping to use it on a new handheld, being released in April called the 'Open Pandora'
Finally, Is it likely that anybody else could get the source code from Chris?

Thank you



In theory, my port will work for all linux distributions with the x86 architecture. (and after grabbing all needed 32-bit libraries, it'll also work on a 64-bit system)

It won't run on any other architectures (like the ARM processor, ...) since it's not build for that. I (or someone else) would have to explicitly compile the AGS code along with all needed libraries for that specific architecture.

For the moment, that's out of scope of this one-man team. (Though I intend to look into other platforms at some point in the future, once the current port has matured enough (aka once I know enough about the internal workings of AGS & allegro to solve any problems that arise and have sufficient free time)

As for Chris giving someone else the source code, it never hurts to ask (I did), but such a person needs to be prepared to sign a legal binding agreement as not to use the source code for anything other than building a port.

In the end, Chris is the only one who decides he wants to entrust the source code with.

Cheers,

Tom

SO ANYONE OUT THERE THAT WANTS TO OR CAN PLEASE MESSAGE CHRIS!!!!

 

[Mithrildor]

Do it yourself without the caps. We arent here to do everything for you, if you want something done, do it yourself.

 

[Cpt Ezz]

Thanks buddy!!!
I'm wasn't trying to be rude or anything.....see i would do it if I could. But why would i be asking if i knew how to do it???? :rolleyes: