Arx Fatalis updated; source code released
Sergorn Dragon and Hexxxer both alerted me to this…so thanks, gents.
Here’s RPGWatch‘s report on it. The long and short: Arkane Studios have released what is probably going to be the final patch for their Ultima Underworld-inspired game (which, indeed, they tried to license as the third entry in that series), Arx Fatalis.
They have also released the source code for the game. That’s right…the complete source of Arx Fatalis is available for download. The complete list of changes in this patch confirms this to be the case (because the wording on the patch download page is a bit vague):
Arx Fatalis English v1.21
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– Improved overall game stability under Microsoft© Windows Vista© & Windows 7©.
– Fixed blinking effect that may happen when starting a new game.
– Fixed HUD scaling when display resolution is higher than 1024×960.
– Fixed EAX option: value is now saved when leaving the option menu.
– Fixed an issue with the game locking-up when opening player inventory.
– Fixed length of cinemascope bars displayed during cinematics.
– Fixed some performance issues with a few Nvidia GPU (see Notes).Notes:
– If you experience in game framerate drops or stuttering, please give a try to the “Enable Rendering Fix” option in the Video settings.
– This patch will remain the very last Arx Fatalis update released by Arkane Studios. However, the whole source code of the game is now available for download, which means that numerous fan made updates/mods may be found around the Internet. Arkane Studios won’t provide any kind of answer or support regarding community developed content.
The last time I can think of a company doing this to one of their defining games, it was Bungie, who released the source code for their Marathon series of games. The result of that decision was the creation of the Aleph One project and community, which continues to enhance the experience of playing Bungie’s answer to Doom to this day.
And, of course, there’s Ultima 4, which stands out as another — and particularly relevant — example. Freespace also comes to mind.
So…what will become of Arx Fatalis, now that its source is openly available? Who can say…but I, for one, intend to keep an eye on it.
At any rate, you can grab the latest patch in a variety of languages, as well as the source code, at the Arx Fatalis project entry.
This is great news. There was something of a fiasco a couple years back when Arkane released an updated version of the game exclusively for GoG. The updated fixed critical bugs and was not officially available as a standalone patch for existing owners (although a fan eventually hacked something together).
I wonder if there is any hope of petitioning/asking Bethesda/Arkane to release the full SDK for the game.
If they’d somehow release their SDK it’d be the perfect engine to remake the Underworlds or create nes Underworld type RPGs. Combined with the sourcecode the possibilities would be tremandous.
This happens more often than you think. ID has been releasing the source code for their games every time a new engine is released. Quake 3 was the last source code to be released, and the Tech 4 engine (powered Doom 3, Quake 4, etc…) will be released open source alongside Rage (barring any legal troubles).
Anywho, this is always super cool. The next step really depends on how active the community is. The source to these somewhat older games is usually really cluttered and hard to build using modern compilers right out of the gate. It takes a dedicated (not to mention, talented) community to chip away at it and release a cleaner, more workable version. Still, this could be the beginning of some great things. The original Quake engine, for instance, is still being updated by the community. Very cool.
How about to post news about unofficial AF sequel? http://arxendofsun.solarsplace.com/
Is that the one being done with the Doom 3 engine? I’ve seen a tech demo of it last year and I was very impressed. I believe I did mention it to WtF_Dragon actually – that must have slipped his mind 😛
Pretty much, it did.
I’ll post it on Monday.
With source code may be somebody remade Arx Fatalis into UU3 with lord British on throne. I`ve always felt that AF storyline is too short and uncomplicated for a single game.
I wonder how much the game would be moddable with the source code without any kind of SDK though… I’m not too familiar with that stuff, so I don’t know.
And yeah that King in Arx my first there was “Hey, that’s Lord British” 😀
The story of Arx could probably be translated into the Ultima universe without much difficulty, altough I’m not sure how fans would have reacted to having Britannia basically devasted with the only survivors inside a dungeon 😛
Its great to hear another company has released the source to a great, but aging game. This is the kind of things that keeps the communities of these games alive.
Feel the love:
http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/01/15/186216/Arx-Fatalis-Updated-Released-Under-GPL
I’m just hoping someone will get it running on Linux, basically rewriting the Windows-only stuff and porting the DirectX code to OpenGL. If not, then damn, I did my best.
Oh Cripes, Kevin…you slashdotted me! (Didn’t realize until just now.)
Though the site seems to be handling it well…I think I’ve set a new record for hits as of yesterday.
Well, thanks. That’s cool. You could’ve just linked to the Arx site, so thanks for tossing some link love my way.
I hear that ex Looking Glass employee recover thief 1&2 source code and may be Eidos (or Square Enix) will release it soon public. But Square Enix hate fan works, they closed so much Chrono Trigger sequels.
If SquareEnix has the code, they’ll drain it dry for 12-14 bland sequels at least 7 of which will be blatant copies of the same formula, to try to make more money off of it.
Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but I challenge anyone to say there’s not some truth to it.
Except for Dragon Quest to some degree, that’s just not true at all actually 😛
Square uses some IPs a lot sure, but they definitly offer a LOT of variety in term of games within said IPs – sometime with success, sometimes not, but at least they try.
And I wouldn’t mind 14 Thief sequels with the same formula considering how awesome it is 😛
@Sergorn
The Thief series were always games that I appreciated the idea in more than the execution.
Thief 1 has possibly the best opening level I’ve ever played in any game, but it only goes downhill from there. The game goes from one extreme of stealth gameplay to another. In one level you have to be quiet as a mouse and make no mistakes, and the next level is basically hack and slash with no stealth at all. Only the first level strikes that happy medium where the game allows you to approach the situations it throws at you in any way you want.
I’ve never played Thief 2, but Thief 3 was near unplayable poop-garbage.
I found the diversity in gameplay style in Thief refreshing, not a flaw. Only the “monster/zombie levels” really encouraged you to drop stealth.
Lots of fans didn’t like those, though, which is why they removed them in Thief 2 (instead you get robots 😉 ).
The zombies levels in Thief 1 were annoying really – especially since there were just way too many of them.
Thief 2 was an improvement in every way really – it was ALL about stealth, and the way the missions were conceived were all about your abilities as a Thief.
This was partly because of reaction to Thief 1, but also partly because of how the games were designed : in Thief they wrote the plot first and then built the gameplay around it. In Thief 2 they first wrote and design the levels, and wrote the plot around the gameplay so it felt more consistent.
Now if someone would just port this to the iPad, I’d be stoked.
I actually only stumbled on this game a few months ago. It’s pretty darn amazing. I managed to even locate the original big box copy too.
I’ve only just put the wine on the goblin kings cakes and the “do be do be do” chef has to deliver them 🙂 great stuff.
Too many games to play and not enough time. Doh!
Not sure if this is related, or even relevant, but the Doom 3 source code was released on Nov 23.
http://www.bethblog.com/2011/11/23/grab-the-doom-3-source-code/
Just another set of engine source, if nothing else…