XL Engine source code release!

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Klasodeth
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XL Engine source code release!

Post by Klasodeth »

After an excruciatingly excessive wait, the XL Engine source code is finally released! This is the original version from before the infamous code refactoring. Included is DaggerXL, DarkXL, and some probably not very useful bits of BloodXL and OutlawsXL. The code is provided as-is, because I don't know how to do anything with it other than stick it in a ZIP file.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4pevkmcrbl6ku ... t.zip?dl=0

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Nystul
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by Nystul »

Nice april's fool, curious where this link leads to, won't check it though

apprihensivsoul
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Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2018 7:53 pm

Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by apprihensivsoul »

You know, I was curious enough to poke around, despite the obvious nature of the prank. Now I have neither delved too far, nor have I attempted to compile this. But... why does it look like it could actually be the XL source code? I had to create an account just to ask this.

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Interkarma
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by Interkarma »

Welcome to the forums prankster, and also apprihensivsoul. :)

Had a poke around in this after apprihensivsoul's comment. It does indeed look like XLEngine code (or at least part of it) from early 2013. There's no code in there for real game systems however, just loading game data (image formats, BSA formats, etc.), world cell loading, a basic player motor, some OBJ action handling, and some door code. It's roughly where DFTFU was at early on: an interface between Daggerfall's raw game files and a new engine where player can move around world.

It was also fascinating to see a cpp file from Daggerfall Explorer in there (DFFaceTex.cpp, which was in turn adapted from Dave Humphrey's matrix calculator). And the way climate swaps are implemented in MeshLoader_Daggerfall.cpp is also very familiar. ;) I'm happy to see that being so open with my code was helpful to Lucius getting DaggerXL up and running so quickly. Just being cheeky mate, there's boatloads of new work in here too, I can see the love he was putting into this at some point.

On a more serious note Klasodeth (assuming this is actually you), are you able to let us know how Lucius is faring these days? It's always concerning when someone just vanishes like Lucius did. I hope he's in good health and happy, and still finding joy in his work, whatever that is today.

Thanks for the multi-layered April Fools too! :D

Klasodeth
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by Klasodeth »

Thanks for the welcome! :D

You have indeed figured out the true nature of my April Fool's prank--a genuine XL Engine code release disguised as an "obvious" bogus announcement. I don't believe in April Fool's jokes that end in disappointment because I think they're mean-spirited, hence a joke that ends with a pleasant--if extremely belated--surprise.

As you noted, there isn't much in the way of game systems. As I recall, the decision to refactor the code came before much gameplay implementation was done, and after that the decision was made to decompiling the executables. DarkXL was really the only project of the bunch that had significant work put into recreating gameplay before the code refactoring. Much of the work beyond that point was put into the decompiler. which in its current state would not have been useful to anyone.

Yes, I am the real Klasodeth (I can't think of any other Klasodeths who would have access to Lucius' source code ;) ). Lucius has been doing well. Life has been busy for him over the last few years, though it's settled down a bit these days. He's still expressed interest in continuing work on the XL Engine, but I get the distinct impression he's recovering from the years of having incredible demands on his time. There's no telling when he'll finally decide to return to XL Engine development, but when he does he'll be focusing on the decompiler, which should help result in more accurate gameplay reproduction even for other people's existing projects. But of course, that's at some indeterminate point in the future, and I can't blame anyone for concluding that it may never happen.

On the plus side, with the code out there, DarkXL in particular has a shot at finally being completed. And of course, for everyone who believed this was bogus code release, April Fools! :lol:

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Interkarma
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by Interkarma »

Good to hear Lucius is doing well. Please pass on my warm regards to him. :)

I think it's great the Dark Forces community in particular might get a chance to wrap things up. Out of all the XLEngine games, DarkXL seemed the most complete. I hope you pulled the same prank in their community somewhere. :)

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afritz1
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by afritz1 »

Ah, reverse psychology! So it's not a prank after all.

This is very interesting, but I'm not fully understanding what this source code release means yet (i.e., whether Lucius' code on GitHub is 1/3rd, this is another 1/3rd, and the missing game-specific code is another 1/3rd?). Is this intended to be compiled by anyone in the community now? I see that it's licensed under the MIT (although I'm assuming that maybe you added that on his behalf?). The people following his GitHub repository may be interested in this news about another source release.

On another note, I'd just like to say that I'm also developing an open-source engine (for Arena). I thought someone said a while ago that Lucius expressed interest in adding Arena to the XL Engine at some point. In the grand scheme of things, I'm still kind of a newcomer to the whole Elder Scrolls open-source engine scene, and OpenTESArena still has quite a-ways to go before it's playable, but things are going pretty well so far, and I'm glad that I'm able to be a part of this open-source stuff.

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Arl
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by Arl »

Hey!, welcome Klasodeth, hope you stick around.


Good to know everything is going fine with Lucious after all this time, and that he hasn't lost love for his Daggerfall project.
My Deviantart page, I have some Daggerfall stuff in there.

Klasodeth
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by Klasodeth »

afritz1 wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 2:25 am Ah, reverse psychology! So it's not a prank after all.

This is very interesting, but I'm not fully understanding what this source code release means yet (i.e., whether Lucius' code on GitHub is 1/3rd, this is another 1/3rd, and the missing game-specific code is another 1/3rd?). Is this intended to be compiled by anyone in the community now? I see that it's licensed under the MIT (although I'm assuming that maybe you added that on his behalf?). The people following his GitHub repository may be interested in this news about another source release.
To start with, the code I released is a standalone project that is not dependent on that GitHub release Lucius posted. The code Lucius posted on GitHub is essentially a Version 2 of the XL Engine project. The code I posted is Version 1 of the XL Engine project, before Lucius changed his approach. Because the two versions take entirely different approaches to recreating the original games, neither version is dependent on the other. Any "missing code" in the project I posted is code that literally has not been written yet.

As for the license, I added the MIT license after the fact, due to its minimal restrictions on usage.

apprihensivsoul
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Re: XL Engine source code release!

Post by apprihensivsoul »

That's good news. I'm really glad he's doing alright, the forums over there are in a dreadful, morbid state. The news is a weight off our chest.

In all honesty, if the code never gets finished, that's alright. The replacement projects are bigger and better than I would have ever imagined by now anyway. But in a strange way, this brings a warm fuzzy closure to some of the fears I had. A fitting day for a Resurrection, eh?

I'm waxing philosophical. Thank you for the news, Klasodeth. And all you great titans, go, and let this legend come back to life.

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