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Can we expect RA2's source code? #52

Open PerryPro opened 4 years ago

Ganonmaster commented 4 years ago

The excellent quality of the remaster has me daydreaming about what an RA2 remaster could be. While I wouldn't get my hopes up, I'd love to see it!

Tony642 commented 4 years ago

I heard rumors that EA already lost RA2 source code since failure in code management.

chilvence commented 4 years ago

That would be nice to know one way or the other.

If it really is lost, then disassembly/reverse engineering/reimplimentation efforts are always an option.

We can assume that RA2 was basically an extension of TIBSUN, so if that source is still hiding in a disused filing cabinet, that would be a start.

Even if that weren't the case, TIBSUN itself was probably just a logical progression of the original C&C games, so I would start there. If you were to try and discern the changes between the two generations, you'd just be looking at what is different in the rules.ini and guessing what was added.

I don't even think the original source code is critical to creating a remaster. ORA reimplemented the game without even a scrap of original source code. The big draw that came with the remastered editions was the 4k artwork.

Intent is what is key here. If EA want to give us TIBSUN/RA2 remastered, there is really nothing stopping them even if they have lost the source. It would just be a different set of challenges.

Ganonmaster commented 4 years ago

Even if it was lost, a lot of it can be reverse engineered from both the game and server binaries that are floating around in public. I also suspect there are also some people under NDA sitting on assets and code that could be called upon if the team would need it, so it's probably not as big of a deal.

The source code is the least important in this case, it's indeed all about bringing the existing game to modern systems, with sensible improvements. Projects like OpenRA try to do that with a completely different codebase, so it's not like the untouched original source code is essential to making that happen.